It was a dark, warm and peaceful night.
The kind of night, a man would be grateful for, after a long, exhausting day of doing something they didn't like at all. That was your case - from the morning you've been travelling to your destination - Los Angeles. You felt extremely tired and sad for travelling was one of the things you hated most in the world. However, you had to do it, there was no choice.
It all started a few months ago, when your father remarried after the death of your mother. Her name was Jane.
The problem was, she didn't turn out to be the woman you believed her to be when your dad first introduced her to you before the wedding. In the beginning, she was the sweetest, most caring human being in the world but straight after the marriage, well, let's just say she revealed her true self.
Your dad loved you very much and therefore, showered you with love and care which was something your step-mother, being a woman who didn't have any children of her own, nor dreamed of having any, didn't quite approve of. She was jealous of you. She wanted your father to herself only. It was not in her nature to share. Actually, she's never shared anything with anyone, you even wondered if she knew what the meaning of the word "share" was.
School was over and the so desired by you summer vacation was- finally ahead of you. You wanted to enjoy every second of it and spend more time with your daddy but that was not a part of Jane's plan. That's how you ended up in Los Angeles.
Your step-mom suggested you should spend the summer at one of her relative's relative's relative house - Mr. Dracula. She explained exactly what kind of relative he was to her family but the story was so long and complicated that even the brightest mind wouldn't have been able to follow. The only thing you understood was his name - Michael Dracula. Anyway, what was important in this whole story was that she was trying to get rid of you.
She convinced your dad the house was in Los Angeles in a very greeny area where the air was very fresh with lots of activities to do, the perfect place for you to relax and spend the summer at. Given the fact your father was in love with her, he fell very easily into her trap and sadly, didn't see her real face no matter how hard you tried to show him.
Anyhow, your trip was coming to an end soon, you hoped. The driver took you from the airport and was supposed to drive you to some address from where another driver was to wait for you and escort you to Mr. Dracula's house. At that point, you got little confused - you had already left Los Angeles and were headed in some other direction away from the city but didn't Jane say it was in Los Angeles? Maybe you've misheard her?
You closed your eyes and relaxed in the car, waiting for the next stop. After a long while, you felt the car slowing down until it stopped. The driver turned around to face you and said
"This is where we part, Miss YN." he got out of the car and opened the door for you to get off. After doing so, you looked around.
You found yourself in the middle of some thick, dark forest, and you could see that the road ended behind the car. The road ended? There was no more road? There were no lamps either. The only light around this God-forsaken place, was coming from the silver moon only if its beams managed to make their way through the thick trees.
"What? Here?" you couldn't believe it.
"Yes."
"But there's not a single soul around! Are you sure this is the right place?"
"Absolutely, Miss. You aren't the only one I-" he stopped himself from saying something "I'm sure. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to be somewhere else."
"What about the other driver? Is he going to come?"
"Yes, he will."
"How do you know that?" he turned around to look you in the eyes.
"He always comes. May God protect your young soul." he got in the car
"Wait!" and left.
'He always comes.' what did that mean? You could definitely think about that later while the situation you were in right now had to be immediately resolved.
You were completely alone only with the purse on your shoulder and a suitcase next to you. What was this place? What was this forest? How did that happen? All of a sudden from Los Angeles you found yourself in a thick, dark forest? And why was the air so cold? Los Angeles is in the desert and deserts are supposed to be hot especially during summer! Well, it could get a little cold during night but this was nowhere near cold - you felt as if you were breathing the air from some refrigerator.
What were those strange sounds and noises you were hearing? It seemed like animals. You listened closely... Was it... dogs? Dogs? You couldn't decide for the noises seemed so far away from you - something you were definitely happy about! Last thing you needed was animals chasing you...
After a while, your eyes got accustomed to the darkness. You lost track of time, therefore, didn't know how long you've been standing here. This was crazy!
You felt trapped. Going back was not an option - you didn't know the way - and going further was even worst then going back! No way you were going to enter that forest! Despair and fear were slowly taking control over you while the cold made your body even more tired. That was it! You decided to call your dad. You pulled your phone out of your pursue only to see there was no signal. You couldn't call anyone. Then out of the nothing, you heard the sound of a car in the very far distance. Not even a minute had passed after hearing the car and it was already there, stopping in front of you with such a force, that it left trails behind. It was all black which was not a problem if you'd exclude the fact that all of its windows, the front too, were black too.
The door opened itself. You didn't think much of how it opened alone but scurried to get in to warm yourself up, happy that you'll no longer be alone here. While preparing to get in, you remembered you had to take your luggage so you turned around to grab it and to your surprise it was no longer next to you but it had been placed on the back seat, as you saw. How did that happen? Or more likely, when did that happen?
One leg was inside the car when you stopped because your brain couldn't manage to understand how did your suitcase ended up on the back seat? Seemed like you've spent an eternity thinking because a hand reached out to invite you to get in the car. It was covered in black clothes and black gloves. You got in. First thing you laid your eyes upon was the driver who was dressed in black, even his face covered with some kind of .... was it a mask? You couldn't tell for it was dark in the car but it did seemed like a mask.
Immediately after you got it, he didn't waste no time but drove off.
You sank into the deep forest with wild speed. You quickly forgot the feeling of happiness that came over as you saw the approaching car, after that strange situation you had with the driver... but it was about to get even stranger.
The car went along a straight road... or something like a road. It was shaking because the road wasn't nice like the one in the city. There were trees everywhere and the speed he was driving with, you just didn't know how he managed not to hit a tree!
"Excuse me Sir.... but I think I've come to the wrong address..." you tried talking to him. This whole thing abut you going to this relative of Jane was THE WORST idea ever!
You waited for reply from him but instead he turned his head around to look at you, completely ignoring the fact he was driving not even bothering to slow down. It was then when you saw, his face was completely covered like a mummy, you couldn't even see his eyes. You heard him make some sound similar to the growling of a dog, obviously meaning he liked you better silent. You got a little scared... then he slowly turned his head in the position it was before and continued driving as if nothing happened. You wondered, how did he managed to drive so well and so fast with eyes completely covered and a black window? And not even looking at the road!!??
You didn't know how much time had passed since you steped into the car but from what you could see through the black window, you were leaving the forest to enter a small road. Now that there were no trees the moon could freely spread its light upon the grounds, you could clearly see the forest behind you, and in front of you was only a narrow one-direction road. Now that there were no trees, he forced the car even faster which made your heart race in your chest for you had the feeling you were going to crash any minute now and on top of that, the road was tiny!
All this was like one terrible nightmare you couldn't wake up from. Suddenly, everything went black.
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You felt someone shaking your body. You remembered the situation you were in and this caused you to jump and open your eyes.
You were all alone in the car. It wasn't moving. But wasn't someone shaking your body to wake you up like a second ago? Maybe it was the driver but where was he now? Fear came all over you again. You decided to get off the car and see what was going on. First impression outside was the air because it hit your lungs - this time it seemed like you were breathing ice... it was dark too.
After stepping out, you almost bumped into the driver who growled again in annoyance and extended his arm in a certain direction, obviously trying to show you something. You looked in his direction and almost fainted...
Jane said she was sending you to his house, well, what you saw was not a house at all! Not even a ranch but merely a castle!
You forgot how to breath for a second. This castle was so enormously big and magnificent! Although there was a considerably big distance between you and the castle, you almost fell backwards when raising your head up, trying to see how high the building was. It seemed higher than the skyscrapers... How was this possible?
One must keep in mind that the view you got over the castle was during dark which probably made his real size look smaller. You couldn't wait to see it again in the morning. After managing to take off your eyes from this spectacular building, you looked around. You were in the front gardens and there was no sight of the gates through which you must have gotten in, this reminded you, you must have collapsed or fallen asleep earlier in the car. Forget about collapsing, this place... you've never seen anything like it before! It was like a castle from some fairy tail but much bigger and higher!
How big was the whole place?
"The Count awaits you Miss." the driver encouraged you to go, his voice was harsh and hoarse - 2 whats - First, the driver could talk!!! And second, count!!??? "I will make sure to look after your luggage. Now..." and he pointed again at the castle's front gate. You had no other option but to go and you didn't wanna stay there with the strange driver who's voice sounded like some ghost's voice!
You slowly made your way to the castle. It took you some time to get there but as you approached, you saw it was made of massive stone and gold - it must have cost a fortune to build this place. The walls seemed very thick and the windows looked rather small.
Of bell or knocker there was no sign. You stood in front of the huge gate and didn't know what to do. Trying to open it was not an option for it was so big and thick that it was impossible for a little girl, like you to even move it an inch. You turned around to search for the driver to let him know you had problems with the door but he was gone. His car too which was funny because you didn't remember hearing the sound of a car leaving.
You heard a creak and turned back to face the gate that had begun opening. It took few second for both of the huge gates to fully open. They revealed a big, beautifully decorated hall but no one was in there. You didn't dare come in. Then, you heard footsteps. Once they seemed far away and once very close - it was so confusing and you couldn't tell whether or not the sound was close or in the distance. Maybe those strange sound confusions were because of the size of the castle. Then, you saw a big, dark shadow that seemed the one of a man, coming down the stairs.
You watched as the shadow took all the stairs down and started approaching the gates. In few seconds, a tall figure stood in front of you and it seemed like its shadow came few seconds later. But that was impossible and your mind was too tired, therefore, you did not pay any attention to this detail. Your attention was drawn to something else now - the tall, statue-like figure that stood in front of you. Only after he stepped forward, were you able to see his face clearly. He was a man. A tall, slender man. His skin looked as if not touched by the sun for ages, his lips were red and his hair dark as the night outside and long, going down his shoulders. His hands were held behind his back. His eyes were big and their color seemed to be black although you couldn't tell for sure. He was dressed from head to toe in black and wore some kind of gold jewelry around his shoulders and chest, that was attached to his clothes. He didn't look like a normal person but a king. He was so handsome... he was the most handsome man you've ever seen in your life. His body so slim, tall and elegant! If you hadn't seen him move, you'd think he was a statue - that's how perfect he was.
He stood there like a statue, looking at you and you at him but you dared say no word.
Then, he broke the awkwardness by gracefully bowing down to you. His movements were slow and gentle. As he was raising back up he said
"I bid you welcome to my home, Miss YN."
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