"I bid you welcome to my home, Miss YN." then slowly and in a courtly way extended his left arm, giving you a welcome sign to step in the hall. You noticed he was wearing black gloves too. His voice was both soft and heavy at the same time but it sounded like music. For a moment you forgot your name but, luckily, managed to quickly get back to earth. You bowed too and said
"Thank you... Mr. Dracula?" it was probably stupid to ask that but you just couldn't believe that a person like him can possibly be connected to witch Jane.
"I am Dracula. Please come in, I believe your skin is sensitive to the cold outside."
"Thank you, yes it is..." what kind of question was that!? Shouldn't people say something like 'it's cold outside' or 'you're cold'...
Anyway, you entered the hall and the gates closed behind you. You ignored the fact that they closed on their own just as they opened alone for you were absolutely amazed by the beauty of this hall and castle. It was decorated even better then Versailles or the Buckingham palace... what were you even thinking! Those two couldn't be compared to Mr. Dracula's castle which made you immediately wonder how rich must he be? What kind of a man can afford all this? And how was he a count? Those were the questions that haunted you! Well, there was more too, for instance, how many floors were there in this castle, or how many rooms, or how exactly was Mr. Dracula connected to Jane, and what about that strange driver? Oh and how did you end up in a forest and how can it be this cold in Los Angeles? Why weren't there other houses, neighbors, around? And last but not least, was Mr. Dracula single and how old was he?
You got a little embarrassed that you thought about him in this way but... he was soooo handsome you couldn't help it! And besides, you just wanted to know, you were curious because if he had been married, shouldn't his wife be with him right now too?
He looked young like in his 30s? You were gonna spend the whole summer with him so you'd probably get a chance to ask him eventually.
"Follow me." he said, turned around and headed somewhere so you followed.
While walking behind him there was no way for your eyes to not be glued on him... the distance between you was big but you could still get a nice view of him. His slim, tall, statue-like body that was moving in a very elegant and courtly way, his long legs were taking what would seem as huge steps in comparison to you.
No one said a single word but only the sound of your shoes ringing on the stone floor could be heard, echoing in the enormous hall. After passing through a few rooms or rather halls because the rooms of this castle were all very big and after what seemed to you like 15 minutes, you finally reached the destination which was the dining room.
You saw extremely long table for like 50 people in front of you. It was spread for supper and the room was well-lit with many candles. You were very happy to see there was a fireplace too!
"Please, have a seat!" he motioned you to sit on the chair that was the closest to the fire. "I figured you'd want to be as close to the fire as possible. Humans.. I mean, we people, like the warmness, don't we?" he smirked.
"Yes. It is so cold in this area... I'm glad you have a fireplace." you walked over to sit and he pulled the chair for you. Such a gentleman you thought.
"Of course I do! And I knew you were coming so I ordered it especially for you."
"Thank you very much.." oh wait does that mean... "Specially for me?"
"Yes."
"Does that mean you don't heat up this place at all?"
"Yes."
"But.. how do you live when it's this cold?!" he hesitated.
"You get used to it and it's not that cold but that's not important" he quickly changed the subject "I believe you're hungry so please..." he motioned you to eat. He sat down on a chair so that he could look at you while talking and said "You will, I trust excuse me that I do not join you but I have dined already." you gave him a smile and begun eating. "I hope the food is to your liking?"
"Yes, it's delicious, thank you!" with the fireplace behind you and the hot soup in the bowl in front of you, your body warmed up in no time and you felt much better. After you had finished dining, and you finished fast because you were very hungry, he begun
"I hope your journey was pleasant?"
"Yes, it was..." you lied. Maybe you looked a little tired because he asked you
"Do you need to sleep?"
"Yes, I am a little tired, I've been travelling all day long."
"Then, would you allow me to escort you to your chamber?" you nodded. "Please, follow me!" he got up and gave you a smile. You wondered on which floor was your room?
As you were walking on the way to your room, he begun a conversation
"I figured since you'll be staying here for a longer period of time maybe I should tell you few things about my home..."
"Yes?"
"There are south, east and west wings. You can go anywhere you like in the castle except for the last 2 floors in the south wing... this area is forbidden." you didn't dare ask why and besides, how were you gonna get to the last floor, impossible! He went on "The gardens around the castle are very big, almost like a small forest... you can stroke anywhere you want but... only while the sun is up. When the night has fallen, don't set foot there unless I'm with you! As for the forests outside the grounds of this castle, do not at any cost, go there alone during the night!" wow that sounded like a warning... and was little scary. But why not? "If you need to leave the castle during night, let me know first, don't go on your own."
"I'm sure I understand but... may I ask why?"
"The forest is big, it is going to devour a delicate girl like you." you didn't really want to know what that was supposed to mean... "One more thing... when walking inside the castle during night you might notice what would seem as.... strange things but do not fear. The castle is very old, it has many bad memories and this is completely normal. Nothing can harm you inside." he gave you a smile.
Nothing can harm you? What did that mean.. there was something that could harm you?!
To your surprise, you reached an elevator! That was really great because if you had to take all the stairs..... uh-uh! You got in. It was very fast. You got out on the 50th floor to find yourself in a long corridor, so long that you couldn't see its end. "Please..." he motioned to you to follow. After walking for a few minutes, he stopped and opened the doors to your room for you to come in.
You jaw almost dropped as you walked in your room. It was of course, very big, well-decorated as everything else in the castle, the air was warm for the fireplace had been already lit, there were candles everywhere for the light and your luggage was there too. You walked over to the huge window and enjoyed the view-the forest. It looked beautiful and peaceful with the bright moon's light.
"I pray you like the room."
"I love it! It's very beautiful! I can't believe i'll be staying in a such room!" he let out a quiet laugh.
"I'm glad you like it! Then, i will be leaving you. I believe you have to sleep during night."
"Thank you very much Mr. Dracula, you are most kind and hospitable!" you turned around to face him so that you could thank him and ... see his beautiful face once more before you go to sleep.
"Please, I've done nothing... I hope your visit will be pleasant! Oh and I forgot to mention... I'm busy during the day so tomorrow we'll meet when the night has fallen in the dining room where we were today. Before that, you're free to go anywhere you like and do anything you want. Now if you'll excuse me.." he gently bowed down and begun leaving when you
"One more question..." you run over to the doors behind which he was standing.
"Yes?" he said, ready to close the doors behind him.
"Where is... you room?"
"In the last two floors of the south wing." he smirked "Goodnight." and closed the doors.
Maybe you shouldn't have asked him about his room but you were just curious! Wait a minute... didn't he just say that his room was in the last two floors of the south wing? And didn't he also say that this area was forbidden for you to go? So he's private bedroom is a forbidden area? But why? Well, no way you could ask him that... maybe that was his private space and he didn't like people going up there!
Anyway, you were now alone in this marvelous room or hall and decided to go in the bathroom in order to prepare yourself for sleep since you were really tired. Tomorrow, when you woke up, you were going to explore this extraordinarily castle and its surroundings.
You couldn't wait to see Mr. Dracula again.
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After waking up and washing your face and teeth in the bathroom, you decided to waste no more time but go explore the castle. Your heart begun beating faster only at the thought of it - going everywhere and seeing everything! This happens only once in a life time and you didn't want to waste even a second of it. In the beginning, you despised the idea of leaving your home but now begun thinking that this summer might turn out to be the best summer you've ever had!
You decided to begin from the first floor. Now that you were completely ready, off you went to explore but as you opened the doors of your bedroom to leave it, you bumped into a man, looking in his 50s but very handsome, you must confess.
Why was a man standing in front of your bedroom?
He growled which reminded you of the driver because it sounded exactly like him and if his face was covered, you'd think it was him.
"Good morning, Miss." his voice sounded exactly like the driver's. Could it be that he was the driver? But why would he wear a mask that night and now not?
"Ah... good morning..."
"I didn't get a chance to introduce my self properly last night in the car... I am Gilbert." so this is the driver! He acted weird and his voice was like the voice of a ghost but you had to confess, he was well-spoken and looked intelligent.
"YN..."
"Mr. Dracula send me to make sure you're feeling comfortable."
"Thank you."
"There is breakfast for you in the dining room, Mr. Dracula said you need to eat at least three times a day, I count this the first. I will escort you to the dining room." and so he did. Strange talking again just like Mr. Dracula.
In the dining room, on the same table, breakfast and coffee were served.
"I need to go now. If there's anything you need while Mr. Dracula is gone, turn to me." he begun leaving.
"How do I find you in this big castle?"
"Call my name and I will find you." What? Call his name? But how was he going to hear you? You begun thinking this man was drunk... However, you concentrated on the breakfast which you ate as fast as you could so that you can go exploring.
The dining room was in the east wing so that's where you begun.
There were many rooms, halls, corridors, passages, some of them covered in dust which was a sign for them not being used for a long time. There were many different paintings on the walls and statues of animals, most of them looked like wolves. Maybe Mr. Dracula likes collecting statues of dogs and wolves but you had to admit, most of them scared you for they were showing their sharp fangs as if they were angrily growling at someone. Their eyes gleamed as the moon and looked very alive. You decided to stop looking at them and quickly walk away.
You saw stairs and made your way to them. They were very big and you could see they went really high up. You wasn't able to climb them all till the end but decided to try and when got tired, look for an elevator.
After going to each floor, checking the rooms, most of them bedrooms, going into what would seem endless corridors with thousand turns and other corridors coming from them and after feeling like in a labyrinth, you decided to stop looking into the rooms but go on with climbing the stairs to try and count how many floors were there in the castle.
You came to the conclusion, this castle was like one undescribably big labyrinth with thousands of rooms, halls and corridors, impossible to be fully explored in just one day! To do that, maybe you would need a month.
All this walking and climbing of stairs got you really out of breath so you decided to sit down on a sofa and get some rest. While looking around, your eyes stopped on the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost time to meet with Mr. Dracula! You've seen such a small part of the castle yet needed that much time! To your luck you found an elevator and got in. You entered floor 1 and in few minutes was there. You had the feeling you were completely lost inside this building but luckily, after stepping out of the elevator, you easily managed to find the way to the dining room.
He was already there, waiting for you.
"Good evening." you said.
"Good evening, Miss YN." he bowed his head to you. He was dressed all over in black but this time had a red cape on. The only skin you could see uncovered on him, was his face and a little of his neck. Why would he hide his skin? It looked so flawless like marble!
Red looked good on him.
"I hope I didn't make you wait very long..."
"Not at all. I have just arrived. Now please...." he gracefully pointed to the table that was already set "You must be hungry!"
"Yes, I am!" you went over to sit and just like last night, he pulled the chair for you. He took a bottle from the table and filled your glass with red wine. He walked over to his place and from a different bottle, poured red wine in his glass too.
"I pray you'll forgive me that I won't join you again but I am not hungry." you nodded your head and begun eating while he was looking at you and drinking from his glass.
You finished eating and he begun a conversation. It seemed he was very talkative as if not having talked for a long time and now that there was someone to talk to, he wouldn't miss a second of it.
"Tell me, do you like my home?"
"Oh very much! But unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to see everything! This place is very big and I think I'll need more time to fully explore it.... and I have only been in the west wing but didn't get a chance to go out in the gardens. I love nature and I really wanted to go there..."
"Well, how about we go now? For a walk?"
"Really?"
"Yes."
"I'd love to!" you quickly got up so did he too.
"Shall we?" after few minutes you stepped out of the castle in the front garden and begun strolling next to one another.
"It's beautiful! I've never seen anything like it in my life!" he smiled. "Mr. Dracula, can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Excuse my curiosity but how many floors are there in the castle? I didn't get a chance to find out..."
"There are 505 floors."
"What? 505?"
"Yes." one must also keep in mind that the distance between the floor and ceiling of the rooms was huge.
"And how many rooms?"
"Around 10 000."
"WHAT?" he giggled. "I'll never be able to see the whole castle!"
"You will! After all, you'll spend the whole summer here!"
"Well, I guess you're right. How much time did it take you to build this place?"
"I didn't build it, my parents did. And I remember they begun building it when I was very little and didn't finish until I reached 30 years old."
"Where are your parents now?"
"They are dead."
"I'm sorry..."
"It's ok."
"Mr. Dracula, I'm sorry to ask you but... how old are you?" he suddenly stopped walking. You looked at him. His face was motionless but then his lips begun forming a smile until it turned into a loud laugh. What was that all about? His laugh turned even wilder
"HAHAHAHA ... how old am I?"
"I'm sorry, my question was inappropriate..." his stopped laughing and continued walking.
"Not at all, Miss YN, I am.... 33 year old. It's just that... It's been a long time since someone has asked me about my age...and it also brought back old memories to me."
"I see..."
"And how old would you be?"
"I am 17."
"17!!?? You've been only 17 years here!?" he talked strangely again "But you're still a child!"
"That's what my parents used to say too..." not anymore after Jane walked in your dad's live.
"Why don't you, young Miss, tell me more about your parents, if that is ok of course..."
"Yes! My mother died few months ago and then my dad met Jane and they got married and... that's how I ended up here! By Jane's command..."
"I see... You don't like her, do you?"
"What?" as if he read your mind! "No..." you confessed "and I know it's a bad thing but I just can't help it!"
"That is fine. There are many things we can't help... they just happen. And I also understand why you don't like her, she's not the nicest person.."
"You know her well?"
"Not exactly... let's just say I can see through people's souls.." his eyes glistened. "and her soul is ugly."
"You are right! And you know what, when I first saw you, I couldn't believe that a person like her could be connected to you!" he laughed. "You don't have anything in common! How is she your relative?"
"She's not actually my relative. Our families were once connected through blood but that was long time ago and the same blood we had in our veins has already washed out."
"I knew it!" your conversation went on with him explaining you about this castle and its history.
It seemed like he brought you back in time like many, many years ago. Sometimes he would even speak as if he came from a different century. He also told you more about his parents and the parents of his parents... you came to the conclusion he comes from a very rich family whose members were nobles.
He was talking and telling you things about him which you found to be very interesting. You felt like hypnotized by his voice and stories, it was only him who you were looking at and listening to until all of a sudden you tripped over and almost fell on the ground. You were going to fall but he managed to catch you by the arm and all that happened so fast. He grabbed your arm really fast and you felt like he pulled your body up with such an enourmous strength you lost balance. This man was really strong! You felt like he could lift up your whole body with just one hand...
"Ahh.."
"You have to be more careful!"
"Excuse me..."
"I'm sorry if I.... if my grip was too tight I hope I didn't cause you pain?"
"No not at all!" you lied. He went on like nothing happened.
You saw him glazing at the full moon.
"Miss YN, it's time to return inside the castle. It's very late and you probably need to rest..." you weren't tired nor felt sleepy but it seemed like he wanted you to go inside so you couldn't say no. It was strange but could his sudden change of mood be because of the moon? Since he said that after looking at it...
"Yes.."
"Let me escort you to your room." after doing that he wished you a good night and also said he was looking after tomorrow night to meet you again - this made you happy! It seemed Mr. Dracula was enjoying your company, after all, he's been living alone in this castle ever since the death of his parents, which you didn't understand why! A handsome, intelligent man like him could have easily gotten married!
However, you were about to jump in bed when you heard noises like the howling of wolves. It seemed they were far away but then the howling became louder. You walked over to your window and looked outside.
You saw Mr. Dracula and Gilbert who, this time, was all covered just like the night you first met him. First he covers himself, today didn't and now again? What was that all about?
Then you saw a pack of big dogs approaching the two of them. The howling must have come from them.
Gilbert was carrying a big bucket. The dogs begun howling again and he started feeding them, taking out big pieces of bloody meat from the bucket and giving it to them. You had a better look at them and came to the conclusion they were too big for dogs, they looked like wolves.
Mr. Dracula was standing there like a statue while Gilbert fed them. This went on for a few minutes when all of a sudden, Mr. Dracula slowly begun turning around and it seemed he did it to look at your window as if he knew you were watching. You quickly hid behind the curtains, you didn't want him to see you and you hoped he didn't. When you looked back again he was no longer there. It was only Gilbert with the wolves.
That was a little scary and strange, causing chills all over your body... you didn't know why but you locked your door, this made you feel safer. Then, jumped into bed and hid under the covers trying not to listen to the howling of the wolves.
Author's POV
"Yes.." Michael picked up his phone.
"It's me!"
"I know..." he was annoyed.
"Has she arrived?"
"She has.."
"Good. Just as we talked, you can do anything you want with her but in the end I want her dead and make it look like it was an accident!" he didn't reply "Mikey are you there?"
"I told you not to call me that."
"Sorry, don't be mad at me! I was just trying to-" not caring to hear her out he hung up, put the phone back in his pocket and carried on with his work.
"Oh Jane... don't you know that I never obey orders..." he said out loud while picking off red roses from the forest.
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