The Tale of the Vampire Bride (21 page)

Ariana wandered away and began rummaging through a battered chest nearby.

“What are you looking for?”

“I want you to read something else to me. I found it in this chest a long time ago.”

I moved among the traveling cases and slowly came to realize that these were all that remained of the poor travelers who had the misfortune of coming across the castle in their journeys. All sorts of things littered the floor around us: clothes, shoes, toiletries, hats, and various other items.

“This is terrible,” I whispered.

Ariana tossed a wedding gown to one side and burrowed deeper. “I know it was in here. It was a book.”

The door opened and Elina stood in the doorway. Her long straight black hair flowed around her like a mantle and her keen eyes narrowed as she gazed upon me. “The Master is calling for you, Glynis. He wants to see you in his library.”

“She was reading the most delightful story to me, Elina. It was about a vampire that outwitted this mortal man and killed his sister before escaping! It was so wonderful!”

I lifted a dress from my own chest and held it against my body. It was my favorite gown made of fine Italian silk in the prettiest shade of blue. Without a second thought, I pulled the gauzy concoction I was wearing over my head and dressed in my own gown. I did not bother with a corset and felt quite better in my own clothing.

“I really do not care what she was reading to you. Our Master wants to see her. Now.” Elina’s voice was quite nasty as she pulled Ariana’s hair sharply.

Ariana danced free, whirling about. “His name was Lord Ruthven! He was quite ruthless and cruel. So marvelous he was!” Ariana gaily plunged into a retelling of the story, avoiding Elina’s frustrated looks.

I pulled out a pair of my slippers and placed them on my feet. I wrapped a scarf about my neck, tucking it into the low neckline of my gown. Reaching back into the trunk, I found a pair of gloves and my favorite bonnet. In just a few minutes, I had transformed myself from a vampire Bride into a fine English aristocrat. Twisting my hair up into a proper style, I topped it off with my bonnet.

“I am telling you to be quiet now!” Elina tried to catch Ariana, but the younger girl easily evaded her, leaping over a trunk.

“…and it was too late, of course! Because Aubrey could not tell until midnight…”

I smiled sweetly at Elina as I brushed past her. “I am sure she will tell you all the details!”

Elina hissed at me as I laughed and hurried down the hallways and staircases that would lead me back to the heart of the castle. I could hear Ariana still retelling the story until Elina managed to catch her and gag her. I laughed, then found my way to the library where my family had found a few hours of peaceful refuge just a few days before. As I neared the door, I felt what little gaiety I had gained from my storytelling with Ariana drain out of me. Once more, I felt a terrible feeling of despair.

Sighing deeply, I stood outside of the door. For one insane moment, I wished with all my heart that I would open the door to find my family seated there, waiting for me, happy to see me, and ready for the journey home. Instead, I entered and found Vlad seated at the table where my father had sat. He was intently reading a magazine in English.

“You were calling me?”

“You did not hear me?” He did not look up.

“I was with Ariana. I was reading her a story,” I answered rather primly.

Vlad looked up. He took in my English garb, then sat back in his chair. “Cneajna tells me you do not suffer the vagueness of the mind anymore. Is this correct?”

“Yes. I know who I am and what I am,” I answered very softly. I was not sure how to behave before this man who had taken not only my entire life but my very virginity as well. That intimacy was not something I felt capable of dealing with properly. All I was certain of was that I was trapped, and I had to find a way out. Perhaps, if I was sociable to this man who claimed to be my Master, I could somehow conceive of a way to escape.

“And just who and what are you?” Vlad did not seem very threatening tonight. Actually, he was being polite and somewhat lordly, rather like he had behaved when I had first met him.

“I am Lady Glynis Wright of England. And I am a vampire,” I answered.

Vlad began to chuckle. “A very good answer, Lady Glynis Wright. Now sit down.”

I obeyed, my hands primly folded on my lap. I met his gaze full on, my eyes feeling rather bright and shrewd. I watched him carefully, trying to ascertain how I should respond to this bizarre foreign man.

“I called you here because it is important that you understand certain aspects of our existence. We are Vampires. We kill for blood: hunters, travelers, villagers if they defy us, whomever pleases us. You are now my wife, my Bride. I expect you to act as such. You are not allowed to leave the castle grounds without my permission. I hold you here under my power. There is no escape. We all sleep together in the tombs in the chapel unless I otherwise allow. I expect you to dress appropriately. In England, you may dress this way. In my home, you will dress as I please. And this,” he motioned to my dress, “does not please me.”

“I do not want to be here,” I stated firmly. “I want to return home.”

“I forbid it. The matter is settled. I am your Master, the Brides are your sisters, and this is your home.”

“We shall see,” I said stoically, emulating my dear departed father. “Now, may I be excused?”

Vlad studied my face intently and the dark passion I had witnessed in his green eyes before was beginning to grow within their emerald depths. It made me vastly uncomfortable and I suddenly wanted to escape back to the Brides’ chambers.

“Have Cneajna and Ariana dress you as you were. I will have none of this Englishness in my household. You may go.” Vlad pointedly returned to his reading.

I stood up and tossed my head in defiance. Haughtily, I strode from the room. To my surprise, I heard him chuckle to himself.

I took my time going back to the Brides’ chambers. I was feeling quite contrary and did not want to obey him. At the same time, I knew if I pushed him too far, violence would surely befall me. Honestly, all I truly wanted was a few precious moments of peace.

When I entered the room, Elina was standing at the windows gazing down at the river that cuts through the gorge below our castle. Ariana and Cneajna were sorting through some clothing and jewels, whispering softly.

“Vlad says I am not to look English,” I announced.

“The Master was grieved by your appearance?” Cneajna looked at my outfit and sighed. “I think you look rather pretty.”

I frowned and stomped my foot. “He is such a bastard. However do you stand him?”

Elina turned sharply toward me. “He is our husband. You best remember that.”

“Bah!” I waved my hand over my head. “He is a brute. I despise him.”

Seeing their shocked expressions, I frowned even more. I hated this place. I hated everything about it. But at this moment, I was at a loss as to how to escape. Sighing, I began to disrobe, removing once more all that was left of my life as Lady Glynis Wright. “I like my clothes. Why ever does he want us to dress like we do? It is utter nonsense.”

“The Master spent time in Adrianople when he was a young man and was intrigued by the female slaves of the Sultan,” Cneajna responded and drew a long filmy gown over my head.

“Ah, so he has dressing as slave women! I should have known. It is utterly preposterous.”

Ariana giggled and wrapped an ornate belt around my waist. “Oh, Glynis, you are so very naughty.”

I stomped my foot and tossed my head. “Really? Well, I would rather be naughty and wear my own clothing than dash about in this ridiculous costume.” As I spoke, Cneajna laid a heavy necklace around my neck and placed bracelets around my pale wrists.

“Well, I think you look lovely either way,” Cneajna said soothingly.

Elina whirled about. “Must you always be such a ridiculous creature! He dresses us as his Brides.” She flung out her hands, the jewels adorning her rings and bracelets flashing in the firelight. “He made us his Princesses. Before this I was merely a peasant’s daughter. I remember the days of endless toil for the most meager of profits. I remember the endless hunger and the filth we lived in. I remember! And now, I am the wife of the greatest Wallachian warrior of all time, Vlad Tepes, the Dragon, the Impaler!”

I was shocked at the vehemence in her voice. “Impaler? Whatever does that mean?”

Elina drew close to me, her pale face stark in the firelight, her long black raven hair gleaming. “He was a great man. He destroyed his enemies, impaled them for all to see.”

I blanched, remembering my poor father’s torn body. Anger welled up inside of me as I stepped defiantly toward her. “He is a sadistic monster! He murdered my family!”

“They defied him! Did not give him his due!”

“He is not a Prince anymore! His kingdom is gone!”

Ariana and Cneajna stood in silence, their eyes wide, not sure what to do or say. I could feel my anger spilling out like hot fire and flooding toward Elina. I could feel hers scalding me. We glared at each other.

“He is your Master! And mine!”

“I would rather die!”

“Maybe you should!”

I smirked at her. “Really? What would your dear Master say if you killed me?”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You should be grateful for what he has done for you.”

“You mean for making me into a monster?”

“You are a vampire! I remember how exhilarating it felt to fully become a vampire. I remember how I loved the way my body transformed and the power that rose up inside of me. But you… you are weak!”

I tilted my head, arching an eyebrow. “You think me weak?”

“Yes. I watch you. Languishing in your thoughts. Afraid of what you are. Afraid to feed. Afraid to be what you are. Your reticence is weakness and I abhor weakness. Why the Master desires you, such a pathetic weakling, is beyond my comprehension. Not when he has me, a Wallachian Bride that desires nothing more than to fulfill his wishes.” With a faint hiss, she turned away in disgust.

“That is why you are weak,” I said to her back, then sat down on a chair. I began to paw through the jewelry box on the table.

“I will destroy you,” Elina hissed, taking a step toward me.

I ignored her.

Cneajna stared at me, then grabbed hold of Elina, pulling her away into the shadows.

Ariana sat down next to me and grabbed the jewelry box. Humming to herself, she began to hand me large ornate rings studded with fine jewels.

“Elina is not very fond of you,” she said.

“I noticed.” I stared down at my hands. The rings and decorative bracelets reminded me of paintings I had seen of the ladies in the exotic lands of the East. Our gowns were made of fine silks and satins: all had a distinctly foreign look. I smiled wryly. How stupid to think of such trivial things as dresses and jewelry. I had to concentrate on how I was going to escape this hell.

Cneajna returned from her talk with Elina, a tight smile on her face. “How does she look?”

“Oh, so pretty! Just like one of us!” Ariana leapt to her feet and whirled around, her dress flowing out around her pretty little ankles. “Now we can teach her to dance!” Her hips swayed seductively side to side as her arms snaked through the air.

“I do not care to learn,” I responded. Standing up, I moved away from the other Brides. “I do not want to learn anything you have to teach me. I just want to be who I am.”

“You are one of us now,” Cneajna stated.

“True, but I do not have to be like you, do I?”

“There are certain things our husband expects. To dance for him is one of these things.”

Ariana spun about, her arms above her head, her hands tracing intricate designs. “I love to dance!”

“You look so lovely when you do,” Cneajna assured her. She reached out and caught Ariana’s hand as she danced by.

Ariana giggled with delight and embraced her.

I made a face. “Well, then, you can dance and I shall watch.”

“He will not like that,” Elina said from the shadows.

“I do not care what he likes,” I said rather haughtily.

“You should, because if you do not do as he wishes, he will make your life so miserable you will wish you had never been born.” Elina appeared on the edge of the darkness, her eyes glinting with red fire.

“Maybe I already do.” I moved across the room to an old worn divan. Reclining on it, I pointedly ignored Cneajna’s disapproving gaze and Elina’s angry one.

I was growing frustrated within the confines of the castle. The madness was gone, but now I knew the torment of sanity. My former life was a distant beautiful memory and my new life consisted of this damned castle. Now I had to figure out how to survive this place until I found a way to escape. My brief existence thus far as a Vampire was torment after torment. I was obviously a slave to Vlad Dracula and learning the rules of this place was so tiresome. The fact that I had to change out of my real clothes and into an outfit, that in my opinion, made me look like a Middle Eastern whore, was frustratingly stupid. I had escaped one restrictive society to find myself trapped in another. Another of life’s cruel ironies.