The moment Lucas was out, even before Katerina could bring the food to the table by the windows where I now stood, peeking carefully behind the curtains into the fast-thickening darkness spreading over the snow-clad meadows, I started pestering her with my questions and opinions, resolved to get her make me understand at least some things straight away.
"Katerina, really, why don't you simply tell me everything, why all this secrecy? And why is the sunlight the only thing that bothers me since I was changed? Why am I different from the other new-born vampires in so many ways? And Lucas is my best friend, more, my daughter's best friend, he's not my employee; I don't want him to spend the whole night outside my door... How much time has passed here since I left, by the way?" I added, then paused for breath finally.
"Sit." Katerina ordered simply as she put the tray on the table. "I will tell you everything but it will take time. Don't rush. You must promise me that what I will tell you about our kind," she said, staring in my eyes seriously, "will remain between us. You mustn't tell anyone, not even your husband. He knows that I'm different and he respects my secrets, and since you returned the first time, he suspects that you are like me, too. When Lord Vlad sees you tonight, he will have it confirmed. He is a wise man, my lady, respectful of others' hidden truths. I know that he will never ask anything of you, unless you tell him yourself. And if you want me to stay here, you cannot share with him anything about us."
"'But why... Katerina, it's hardly fair..."
"Lady Samara, those of our kind are not allowed to cross paths with humans. You, like your mother before, did exactly that; you both fell for a human and paid a high price for your waywardness, your disrespect of our laws. I am sorry, my lady... I should have looked after you better back then, but from the moment you and his lordship met for the first time, your feelings for him were too strong... I could only watch you head towards your doom..."
"Katerina, please..." I begged, dying of curiosity, willing her to tell me more about this. What she was saying did not make much sense to me so far, but it was incredibly interesting.
But she shook her head, changing the subject. "As I said, no one is supposed to know about our existence; that is the most important thing right now."
She paused shortly to organize her thoughts, then spoke again, "The sunlight is not the only thing you perceive differently. All of your senses have improved. Your speed will most likely be like theirs, too, and you gained a new eternality. This is what you got from him, through your husband's blood, by becoming a vampire. But you kept your humanlike looks and behaviour, your visions, and your ability to connect with animals, because of your other side. You got that from your mother. That part of you is not as strong as it had been before you were reborn, but you still have a lot in you coming from us. Eat or I won't tell you anymore." She added, as I just kept staring at her.
The food was delicious, I realised the moment I took my first bite of the fresh bread prepared by Cook, and so was the wine. I had never eaten anything more tasty and satisfying. That made me think of Lucas again, as I remembered him telling me once, how when preparing for, and soon after the transition, everything tasted awful. Katerina was right; I was definitely different.
Before I could ask her about him again, she told me herself, "The young man outside may not work for you, but he definitely does work for Lord Vlad-- he accepted the post of your... hmm... personal guard, or a knight if you prefer, the moment he reached this castle with the young lord. So, he will be outside your chamber, or within your reach wherever you go, whenever your husband is not with you. I cannot do anything about that; it is their arrangement. And it had been a year and a few months since you left us..." she said, responding to my last question, even as a couple of maids I had never seen before wheeled a large wooden tub into my room, curtsying silently, then started to bring hot water from my dressing room.
"Katerina, this is all so weird, there are so many things I must know..." I mumbled around a mouthful of cake.
"And I'll tell you as much as I can, but not tonight. Right now you need to finish that meal and take your bath before the water gets too cold. Unlike the 'pure' vampires, you would not enjoy that."
I smiled at her, quite happy to keep some of my human traits.
"Only one more thing tonight then, Katerina. Can I stay here? Forever? Can I bring my daughter into this place the next time the passage opens?"
She shook her head, motioning me to follow her towards the bath once the maids left and I finished my wine.
"No. I only created this place for you to find Lord Vlad again once you are reborn. You can't stay here unfortunately, but you can take him with you if he wants to follow you."
"If we both leave, what will become of this place?" I asked, following her to the fireplace where the bath stood, and letting her undo the laces of my dress, my mind teeming with all the things I learned. So Stoker was wrong. There was no danger of this place ceasing to exist with Radu's possible death... I mused, shaking my head at the recollection of all the sleepless nights that theory of his had cost me, and how much I risked because of it... Everything could have gone so much worse in Poenari... my subconscious hissed, making me shiver.
"It will remain like this as long as I stay here. And you both, and even your children, can always come to visit those who remain." Katerina said, pulling me out of my reverie.
"Will you stay here, please?" I asked, looking at her imploringly as she helped me step into the warm, scented water. The word 'children' she used instead of child echoed through my mind, before I buried it under the growing pile of other unasked questions. There were too many things to think about...
It feels wonderful, I thought, suppressing a sigh of pleasure when the thigh-high water lapped my oversensitive, vampire skin, which I still wasn't used to, the pleasant sensation pushing everything else away momentarily.
"I'll stay here as long as you'll need me, my lady. And there's Clara to think about as well..."
What does Clara have to do with this... I wondered, opening my mouth to ask more questions, then closing it again and biting my tongue, remembering my promise not to demand more answers tonight.
Just as I was about to sit down into the wooden tub, my gaze fell to the door leading to the short corridor between my room and the library and I squalled with surprise and joy when I saw Vlad standing there, watching me intently. A smile tugged at his lips when he noticed my reaction.
"My lord, Lady Samara will be ready in..."
"Thank you, Katerina, I'll help her. Good night."
Katerina looked at me and when I nodded, she resigned.
"I will see you in the morning, my lady." She curtsied politely and gathering my used dishes in no time, left my room even as I threw my arms around Vlad the moment he reached me, melting in his embrace.
I had missed him so much. I still couldn't believe that he was here, that I was here, that we were together and this wasn't just one of my dreams.
His hands glided up and down the curve of my spine as he sensed my crazy emotions, caressing, soothing, making me sigh as I remembered how long and how much I craved this moment. He pulled me closer yet, making me arch into him as my body responded to his gentle touch, my lips seeking his.
"You should sit down before you get cold... I know that you'll never be completely like me..." he murmured, looking in my eyes after we kissed.
He was already bathed, I noticed as I ran my fingers through the still damp, silky strands of his hair. He didn't want you to see him in the state he arrived in, most likely... my subconscious whispered. There was a long, thin scar on his cheek that hadn't been there the last time I saw him. More questions to ask... Later. This moment was too precious to destroy it by thinking about anything but the two of us, here and now together.
His hands, having left my back to timidly rediscover other parts of my body while keeping me very close to his, unwilling to let go of me, were scattering my conscious thoughts and questions, making me feel weak in the knees. I shivered, feeling the chill of the room touch my skin, rendered even more sensitive by his attention, now that he mentioned it.
"Take this, please, I don't want to get it wet. There are pictures of our baby inside." I said as I pulled away slightly, observing his face as I unclasped the Victorian locket I was still wearing, and handed it to him, before I finally sat in the bathtub. We haven't spoken about our Aurora yet...
"I saw her already," he said, sitting on the rug the bath was placed upon, opening the locket and smiling at the pictures as I reached for a soap. "Your friend showed me many pictures of her on that device he brought over with him. She is beautiful, just like you..."
I smiled as he put it in the safe distance from the water, then took a wash cloth from a pile of towels Katerina had placed on a stool next to the bath.
He took the soap from me and slid it first over my shoulders, then, after his eyes seeked and received my permission before my eyes closed as I revelled in the overwhelming sensations-- the smoothness of the fast melting soap followed by the soft scratch of the not exactly soft linen cloth, and the irresistible tickle of his fingertips making my breath quicken and my heart race-- even the rest of my body.
"You still look so incredibly human," he said, running his fingers down my cheek, now heated from the bath and his touch.
"Is that a bad thing?" I asked, my voice coming as a hoarse whisper, making me blush even more.
"Not at all. I just don't understand... And I'm sure Katerina won't say..."
"She... I... " I mumbled, hating not being allowed to tell him anything.
He shook his head even as he put a finger on my lips, "I'm not asking you what you cannot tell me." He said, sealing my lips with a kiss.
"But it's not fair..."
Again, he kissed the rest of my retort off my lips, silencing me effectively.
"I'm happy that she at least talks to you. I always knew there was something different, special about you, and you deserve to know who you are." Vlad said, helping me out of the bath the moment I finished washing my hair.
He shrouded me in a large towel and after I wrapped another one around my hair, lifted me in his arms, making me giggle.
I thought he would take me to the bench by the fireplace but I was wrong, he headed for the corridor leading to the library and his chamber.
"I don't want them to wake you up when they come to take that bath away later; I guess you'll need to sleep just as much as you did before," he murmured in my ear, making me shiver as his breath tickled my earlobe.
A lively fire was burning on the hearth in his chamber, bathing the large room in warm, moving light. There were blankets spread on the stone floor by the fireplace. I smiled, realising that it was the wolves' nest, similar to the one I used to keep in my chamber. There was a chair, too, with one of my white shirts and my favourite fur-lined blanket spread over its back, warming up from the flames.
He set me down, close to the fire, my feet in the warm blankets, before he took the damp towels off me and offered me my shirt.
I shook my head no, and reached for the blanket instead, wrapping it around me, enjoying its softness. It felt much nicer on my sensitive skin than the shirt's linen. He smiled before he lifted me up again and sat in the chair with me on his lap. I curled into him, as close as I could, then, as he ran his fingers through my damp hair, adjusting it in a way it would dry faster, I untied the laces of his shirt and ran my hand over his bare chest. He, his closeness, felt so good.
Then we just sat there for a long while, driving each other crazy as our hands would not stay still, as if they wanted to make sure that we both knew how much we had missed each other, until his fingers stilled over the scars on my wrist.
"Samara..."
I knew he would want to know what exactly passed between me and Andrei in Poenari but it was all still too fresh and painful in my mind; I couldn't go back, not yet.
I shook my head, looking at him pleadingly, as I said, "Not now, please. But what happened to you?"
I ran my fingertips down his cheek, along his scar, before he captured them in his hand and brought them to his lips.
"That was one of Jusztyna's guards." He said, eyes darkening with anger, making me feel happy that I refused to talk about Andrei.
Vlad had more self-control than any other man I had ever met, but he wasn't completely immune to anger and reckless, wrong acts and decisions it usually leads to.
"How?" I asked, my eyes boring into his.
"I was looking for Andrei," he said, looking away from me to hide the anger morphing into fury as he pronounced his name. "He vanished the night we found you. There is no trace of him anywhere, but I found out that Jusztyna moved to one of her smaller castles near Hunedoara. I wanted to talk to her; she must know where her brother is. She refused to receive me and sent her guards when I did not want to leave... It was my fault; I attacked them first," he admitted, running his hand through his hair.
I closed my eyes, realising that he would never find peace until he dealt with Andrei.
"You mustn't worry, Samara..." he said before I pressed my lips to his, offering him all the comfort and love I could give him.
He deepened the kiss, crushing me against him, then carried me to his bed the moment we pulled away for breath.