I woke up with a start, gasping for air, my heart pounding crazily against my ribs. I had dreamt about the strange white-haired vampire who I had found waiting for me outside my room this morning. And I realised that maybe there were more dangerous vampires around than Radu. Those like Andrei. Just the thought of him made me shiver with fear.
Even with the curtains down on three sides of my bed, I could see it was an early evening already. The weak winter light coming in through the windows was fading away quickly, and the chamber was full of dancing shadows cast by the blazing fire.
I felt as tired as before, and the bed was so comfortable and warm... I might have just gone back to sleep if I wasn't starving. Katerina was nowhere to be seen, and I didn't really want to call her, I was fine on my own at the moment. I shook my blanket off, feeling suddenly too warm, and stood up. Finding my soft slippers under the bed I put them on; my other shoes, along with my coat, had disappeared. Katerina must have come in while I slept.
I walked across the chamber to the small table by the window, and there I found my dinner, still warm. The table was laid for one person only; apparently, I was supposed to eat on my own tonight.
Where is he?
I wondered if this was one of the nights when Vlad would not eat at all, when he would just drink... whatever it was that they drunk. I still didn't know enough about his needs and habits, apart from the few things he had told me and others that I had noticed myself.
He was very different from the other vampires I had met so far, much more 'human-like' and in control of himself. Less addicted to human or any kind of blood. Yet he needed it to survive, to live, even though very little. I noticed the same kind of self-control and discipline about his son; I knew I could trust him, too.
But then there was Radu, who obviously suffered in my presence, a victim of his desire for human blood. We need to talk, Samara... That wasn't supposed to happen. His words came back to haunt me, and yes, I wanted to talk to him. But how, with his lack of control over his own impulses?! I shuddered, thinking how his look and behaviour had affected me. Still, I couldn't bring myself to think about him as entirely cruel and heartless. After our brief encounter, I started to think that he was weak and suffering rather than dangerous. A broken man. It might be your fault, see? My subconscious was ready to remind me. I wished it wasn't true.
There were the knights then, looking very disciplined and self-possessed. Like Radu's friends, the group of leering vampires I saw hiding among the trees of the forest. Or the guests present in the castle the night I arrived.
And finally, there was the man who scared me even in my dreams, the strange and mysterious Andrei. His power was great, I remembered how he held me frozen to the spot, helpless, and who knows what he would do if I had been alone. He looked so much in control, and I knew he was one of those who killed for fun and excitement rather than the need for blood. Steer away from him, he is dangerous. I knew it was true, but who was he, and what did he want from me?
I ate my dinner so absorbed in these thoughts that I didn't notice what I put on my plate. There was a small teapot in the middle of the table, and I poured myself a small cup of the still steaming liquid it contained. It was the colour of the brightest honey and smelled heavenly, of flowers and sunshine... I brought the cup to my lips and realised it was honey mead, the best and sweetest I had ever tasted. As I sipped it slowly, I could feel it warming my body from the inside, relaxing my tense muscles and nerves.
I rose from the table and stretched, then walked closer to the window. It was completely dark outside now, and it was freezing cold. The glass window pane steamed up with a light shimmering mist when the heat rising from my cup landed on its surface. I could see nothing beyond the icy fog, except an occasional huge snowflake materialising out of the fabric of the night, hitting the glass with a soft, muffled whisper, before continuing its journey towards the frozen grounds lying deep down. Hopefully, it wouldn't snow too much, so we could go for another horse ride in the morning. It had been fun today, at least up to our encounter with Radu.
We had been alone, just me and him. My husband. The man I loved. The thought was still so novel and exciting... I blushed, realising just how much I enjoyed being alone with him.
Where is he?
With all that had happened today, I felt like this world and its inhabitants were working against us, and I didn't know how much time we had left. He said he would try to take me back for my own safety. That this was not the right place for me. And then? Could I ever go on, live again without him, knowing that he stayed here, in this parallel reality? If I ever go back, nothing will be the same again... Could he come with me? Could I stay here? He said he would never change me... However, these thoughts were getting me nowhere; they only made my eyes prickle with new, unwelcome tears.
I looked around the room cautiously, and as there was still no sign of Katerina, I filled my cup again. Surely she would tell me off if she saw me. I giggled, imagining her scornful expression. But I was feeling nicely relaxed and a bit light-headed, not in a mood to worry about my old nurse. There were too many other things to worry about.
Suddenly, I heard Vlad's heated voice coming from the direction of the corridor leading to the library. I drained my cup fast and made my way out of the room, following his voice.
I reached the door leading to the spiral staircase and noticed it stood slightly open; the voices I could hear were coming from there. Pausing for a second next to it to consider my options, I realised that there was no way I could fight my curiosity, emboldened, and strengthened by the mead.
I gathered the long skirt of my dress over my left arm so I wouldn't trip over it and descended the narrow staircase illuminated by candles, wondering where it would lead me.
The stairs finished by a plain stone wall in another narrow and long corridor leading from here in two directions. I could hear the voices much stronger now, coming through the wall and echoing around me. When my eyes adjusted to the tenebrosity of the place, illuminated only by the flickering candles placed along the staircase behind me, I noticed a crack, a small hole in the wall that looked too round to be accidental. Hmm.
Leaning on my tiptoes, I looked through it and gasped with surprise. I was facing a woman, a vampire, judging by how stunning she looked, sitting at the table across the room from where I stood. And there was Andrei, too, sitting by her side. They can't see you! I had to remind myself lest I would run back to my room.
The woman looked regal and intimidating. She was dressed in a blood-red velvet gown that seemed to glow in the light of the infinity of candles illuminating the room. Her blond hair was pulled up tightly and hidden under a black veil. The woman's eyes were dark and cold, her skin looked translucent, and her lips... I looked at Andrei again, noticing how much she reminded me of him. This woman might be his sister.
Is your mother here? Yes, and Uncle, too...
I remembered the overheard conversation from before. If Andrei was Young Vlad's uncle, then... Oh no. This was the wife, most likely the Hungarian Princess Katerina had told me about.
Suddenly, I heard Vlad's voice from somewhere to the left, and it startled me even more, making me jump. I shouldn't be here, listening to their conversation.
"Feeling guilty?" A low, calm voice reached me from my right.
Someone was in the corridor with me, hidden in the shadows. The someone chuckled at my obvious fear and confusion, a friendly and reassuring sound. "I'm sorry if I startled you, but this is my favourite place in this castle, and I'm not used to meeting anyone here. You surprised me."
Vlad Junior approached me from the darkness, and I finally started breathing again. I offered him an apologetic smile, saying, "I was curious." As if that explained and excused my spying on my husband and his... other family.
"I bet you were. Mother is dying of curiosity too, but Father won't let her meet you. And I think he is right. She would be ever so jealous if she saw you," he said, smiling at me warmly.
"Does she love him?" I blurted out, unable to hold the improper question back. Does he love her?
"No, they have never loved each other, I think, they were forced to marry," he said, matter of factly, "for the same reason I and my brothers were born-- to unite the kingdoms."
He spoke very openly and was so easy to talk to. I was happy that I had drunk the mead. It was giving me the right level of courage to ask any question that popped up in my mind without overthinking every single word.
"She is Jusztyna, right?" I asked, remembering her name.
"How do you know about us? Has Father told you all this?" he asked, bemused and intrigued.
"No, I've... hmm... read about you." How could I ever explain this to him, tell him about my extensive online research about his family?
"Like in books?" he asked, his green eyes filled with wonder and confusion. "When exactly do you come from?"
Ignoring his questions, I asked instead, "How old are you?" He looked so young.
"Twenty one and a few centuries, I guess," he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners with a suppressed laughter.
"Me, too." I giggled. It was pleasant to talk to him, like talking to Lia, or Anne, or any other of my friends. I was starting to miss them a little.
"You have two other brothers, right? Where are they?" I continued my investigation.
Young Vlad only shook his head at this. Oh. So he was the only one still around.
"Did your father change you and your mother?" I asked, riveted. He said he wouldn't change me.
"No. It was Uncle. Father never changed anyone. For him, this existence, being a vampire, is a punishment. Honestly, after all this time, I can see his point." As he said that, he looked suddenly very sad.
Why? Surely, if you were happy and loved, then an eternal life could be a sort of your happily ever after. But if you were not happy... Is he happy?
"What about your father's other wife?" I asked the first thing that crossed my mind just to distract him.
He smiled, a broad and warm smile reminding me of his father. "Never met her. She was before my time, like you."
That made me smile as well. "I thought you were before my time." It was all so confusing and, for some reason, unexpectedly funny.
"So, will you tell me when you come from?" he asked again.
I rolled my eyes at him; he was at least as curious as myself. "Twenty- eighteen," I said.
He gaped at me, unbelieving. "Really? That means I haven't been out of here for... decades. Many decades," he whispered after a while.
I only nodded, then looked through the hole in the wall again. Otherwise, I would have to laugh at his expression.
Andrei was staring right back at me. My breath hitched, and I stepped back from the wall, bumping into Junior.
"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding concerned.
"Can they hear us?" I whispered.
"No, I don't think so," he said after he peeked inside the room. "Don't worry." But he didn't look all that sure.
"Lady Samara!" Katerina's muffled, anxious voice reached us from upstairs.
"Well, I'll better go. Otherwise, I'll be told off." I offered him my hand, and he kissed it.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Samara. Friends?" he asked tentatively as I made my way towards the staircase.
"Why not, my lord?" I said, turning back to him, smiling. "Just don't ever call me stepmother again."
His low, bemused laughter followed me as I ran up the stairs.