After the cheerful bustle of the lively and warm kitchen, the room we entered now was eerily quiet and cold. I had to turn around in a complete circle to realise that we were in the Great Hall, I hadn't been here since the night of my arrival.
Even though I already remembered enough characters and events of my previous life here, the castle itself was still one big, confusing maze.
The room was larger, darker, and colder than I remembered it-- the fire had been banked, and no one had rekindled it as yet. In the dim, insufficient light coming in through the narrow windows, I could see the two throne-like chairs I remembered placed on a raised stone platform not far from us, directly opposite the huge fireplace. Apart from those, there were several long, dark, wooden tables and benches placed along the walls.
My silent observations were disturbed by a sound of whispering voices coming from the distant, dark corner behind the fireplace. Following the unexpected noise to its source, I spotted two figures half-hidden in the shadowy semi-darkness.
The silent whisper was followed by a low, startled gasp and a rustle of skirts as whoever had been hiding there noticed our approach. A couple of young lovers, I realised as we came closer and my eyes got finally used to the tenebrosity of the place.
"Ioan," Junior called before I could gather my wits to speak, "you know you shouldn't... she shouldn't be here. At least you must be more careful!" He did not seem happy to find the two here. But, he did not sound surprised either.
The man called Ioan cupped the girl's face and kissed her gently and reassuringly before turning to us. I noticed him holding her hand to prevent her from running away, most likely. Next to her composed, self-confident lover, she looked frightened and embarrassed.
Ioan bowed politely to both of us and then spoke to me, "Lady Samara, I'm Ioan, the Captain of your husband's Guard, and this is my Clara." He pulled the girl closer and in front of him.
She was quite short-- maybe as tall as me-- and very young. I would bet she was no older than seventeen. Her hair seemed to be the colour of cinnamon in the dark hall, and she had the most captivating eyes-- brown, wide, doe-like, and innocent. The fast spreading blush on her face betrayed her, she was definitely human and could pass for my younger sister.
I smiled at her tentatively, but instead of calming her, it made her blush deepen. The girl was very shy. She curtseyed, avoiding to look at me directly, then without a word pulled free from her lover's grasp and bolted for the closest door.
Junior's sharp intake of breath brought me back to the conversation I had not been following. His voice sounded angry but resigned at the same time, and I wondered what Ioan had done to upset him.
"A fiancée! Are you making this official, then?"
"Most definitely, my friend," the young man replied seriously.
"But... will you... despite everything..." I heard Junior groping for correct words to express his thoughts and concerns. What exactly is going on here?
"First of all, we will speak to the Council and then worry about the rest. If I could find a position for Clara in the castle..." the young vampire was saying. For he was most certainly a vampire, this Ioan.
Only now, as he came even closer, did I notice the difference between him and his girlfriend properly. He stood in front of me tall, well-built, and perfectly still, dressed in what I assumed to be the Guards' uniform. The flawless, white skin of his handsome face was the complete opposite of what I recalled of Clara's flushed complexion.
The Captain's dark blue eyes met mine directly as I asked, "Does your fiancée not live in the castle? Could I help you somehow?" For some reason, I really liked the couple.
"Maybe you can," Junior responded instead of him, turning to me startled, as if he only remembered my presence now.
"Thank you for your concern, my lady," Ioan said with a grateful smile and another polite bow.
"Shouldn't you be joining my father, Ioan?" Junior asked.
"Not before tomorrow. We are to wait here and see if he comes back this evening. If not, we will be joining him tomorrow night."
Hmm. So Vlad might not be back today, after all. Whatever happened, and when will I see him again?
Junior nodded, then turned to me. "Let us go, Samara, if you still want to go for a ride, that is."
"Should I accompany you, Vlad?" Ioan asked, and I was surprised to hear him addressing Junior by his name. They must be close friends then.
"No, thank you, there's no need. You seem to be quite busy today," Junior replied, lips twitching with a suppressed smile.
"Go find your Clara," I said, "and tell her that she can stay. I need a... a companion, if she is looking for a position as you say."
Junior shot me a surprised look but did not say anything, his shrug and a smile were sufficient. He didn't mind.
"Thank you, my lady," Ioan said, reaching for my hand and kissing it, his cool lips making me shiver. Then he was off, disappearing in an instant in a blur of his shiny black hair, so similar to Vlad's, and azure cloak. Yes, definitely a vampire.
"I don't know, I just like them," I replied to Junior's questioning look. "I think they should be together if they want to."
"They do want to. It's their families who don't like the idea of them as a couple. And the Council."
"Will you tell me about them? Why are they not supposed to be together?" I begged, sensing an interesting story behind Junior's words.
"Is that one of the questions I'm supposed to be answering today?" he asked, grinning.
"One of my many questions, yes." I smiled back, following Junior towards the door I recognised as the one through which I had arrived in this time and place.
I braced myself, half expecting the fall that had landed me here days ago to repeat itself. Nothing happened, of course, and we simply walked through the adjacent short corridor and into the large and busy Entry Hall.
Even now, this part of the castle was full of activity. The curious tourists of my time were replaced by busy grooms, servants, a few Guards and the omnipresent knights, rushing up and down the sweeping staircase which lead to the upper floors, and in and out of the massive wooden front door that stood wide open in front of us.
Junior took my arm to steer me safely out into the courtyard through all the commotion, and suddenly, I was forced to close my eyes. After the penumbra of the castle, the light outside was blinding, the bright sunshine mirroring off the freshly fallen snow pierced my eyes even through my closed eyelids.
Someone laughed not far from me, a mocking and unpleasant sound I did not recognise. Someone I hadn't met yet. As I opened my eyes, I saw her looming above me.
Lady Jusztyna was sitting on a horse as big and black as Vlad's Midnight, surrounded by a group of her vampire friends and guards.
Meeting her there shocked me, I thought she had already left, and I had to concentrate hard to follow her high-pitched voice to make sense of what she was saying. She was talking to me.
"Oh, there she is, my hus... His Highness' little human," she said, turning to her escort, inviting them to laugh at her words. "So we meet in the end. I feared he would keep you hidden from me, and I was ever so curious what it is, about you..." She urged her horse to approach me, and only thanks to Junior's encouraging squeeze on my arm, I didn't back away and run like Clara had done before. She was making me feel uneasy. As she came closer, her figure blocked the blinding sunshine, allowing me to look at her without squinting.
A few ringlets of her blonde hair fell loose around her white face framed by the black hood of her cloak as she bent down to come face to face with me. Her eyes closed briefly, and her face nearly touched my hair while she inhaled deeply, as though smelling me.
I recoiled and leaned against Junior for support as she opened her mouth to speak again, and I recognised the smell that lingered on her breath-- the metallic tang of fresh blood. I felt dizzy. This was my third close encounter with what I considered a 'real' vampire, and still I wasn't doing very well. My knees were shaking, and my body was covered in gooseflesh and cold sweat.
A sudden sound, a sort of a low growl from Junior, warned her to back away.
"Aren't you sweet?" she coaxed. "Amazing how young and fresh and... enamoured you look, yes I can feel your excitement, your love for him, it radiates from you... I still remember how it feels, you know? I see how very entertaining you must be for him, at least for the moment. But still, you seem quite plain and ordinary, so unsophisticated and simple... what does he really see in you to want to keep you?" she mused, straightening up again and shaking her head in disbelief. "Could it be... your blood? I wonder how you taste."
"Mother, that's enough. Go home. Please." Junior's angry voice interrupted her. "Where are Andrei and Radu? Be sure to take them with you."
"Oh, they went ahead, had things to do. They were hungry, you see? Your father's hospitality leaves a lot to be desired. You shall accompany me, Son."
"No, I shall not. Father asked me to stay."
"Oh, I see," she said and looked at me again.
It was as if she could see right through my clothes and skin into my heart and mind. I tried to avoid looking in her eyes directly before, but I stared right back at her now, not wanting to show her how successful she was in intimidating me by avoiding her intense gaze. It was a mistake. As soon as our eyes met, I felt trapped, like before with Andrei. I found myself observing her fascinating eyes-- I would have sworn they were nearly black when I saw her the night before but now in the morning sunshine they looked light brown, streaked with vermilion, or maybe completely red...
"I would give anything to taste her." I heard Jusztyna's voice and the excited whispers of those surrounding her, muffled as if reaching me from a great distance, and followed it. She had me under her spell, and she knew it.
"Mother, that's really enough!" Junior's fury was evident in his voice. I shook my head and tried to follow his voice instead, to come back to him. "Samara," he called to me as if he understood how I was feeling. I noticed his arm wrapped around me from behind, restraining and protective, but only when he stepped in front of me, shielding me from the vampires' curious looks and snapping the connection between me and his mother, I was safe.
I shuddered violently, feeling faint, unable to think coherently. What has just happened? I rested my forehead against his back and closed my shaking fists around the fabric of his coat, holding on to him lest I would fall.
"Are you all right, Samara?" Junior's cool fingers were under my chin suddenly, lifting my head to face him. He turned towards me so fast that I hadn't noticed and held me by my arm to steady me. Junior was looking in my eyes, his face lined with worry. I opened my mouth but couldn't speak, so I only smiled at him, uncertainly, and nodded.
Jusztyna's cruel laughter, echoed by a few more from the group of her friends, brought me back to what was happening around us.
"You're just like your father! So foolish, always protecting the humans. How ridiculous.
Never mind, I'll leave this one to you then. We shall hunt on the way."
Junior let go of me and turned towards the group again. "Just make sure you are far enough before you do. You wouldn't want to argue with Father again, would you?"
"I don't think he will have much time to argue with me after today. But yes, we won't hunt anywhere near. Just because you asked me, Son. Have fun, my love." She nodded significantly towards us and turned to leave.
The booming laughter from the retreating group reverberating off the stone walls seemed to linger in the air around us long after they were gone.
Junior took a few calming breaths and then turned back to me. I hugged him, hiding my face in the folds of his cloak. I might have been too shocked to feel really scared before, but now I was trembling. He patted my back awkwardly, obviously not knowing what to do with me. "I'm sorry, Samara, I shouldn't have brought you out here. Do you want to go back in?"
"No, it's nothing. I just... Thank you. If you were not here..." I said, stepping away from him, trying to look stronger than I felt.
"Then you wouldn't have met her. It's my fault," he said testily. "Let me take you back in."
"No! Come on, I want to go out, please. Tell someone to bring our horses, will you?" I said, turning to one of the servants who just rushed by.
I needed some fresh air to collect my scattered wits. So much had happened since my arrival a few days ago... Being closed inside wouldn't do me any good. I felt too restless, too preoccupied to stay put. And I needed to talk to Junior; there was so much I still did not remember or understand.
Despite all the distractions of the morning, I couldn't stop thinking about Vlad, hoping he would come back soon. Without him by my side, I felt empty. I was a stranger in this time, among its unusual inhabitants, lost in this castle. Not alone, no, but feeling lonely nonetheless. I was worried, deeply, maybe unreasonably worried that I might lose him, so intolerably soon after I had found him again.
It was something in Justyna's cold words: 'He won't have time to argue with me after today', and also Junior's careful avoiding telling me what exactly had happened to make Vlad disappear in the middle of the night, without a goodbye... So careful, in fact, that it made me feel scared to ask him directly, lest I should find out something I didn't really want to know.
I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes, offering my cold face to the soft caress of the bright winter sunshine. Everything will be fine. He will be back tonight, I promised myself silently, repeating the words in my mind a few times like a mantra.