The time arrived for the festivities; Angelina was nervous about speaking in front of nobles, especially Vlad. She practiced by herself all day and believed that everything was going to turn out a success. 

Ioana and Sorina assisted her in getting ready with a simple yet elegant dress. "Are you ready?" Ioana asked while finishing putting the last flower in the young woman's hair.

"Yes and no. I'm nervous. What happens if I fail?"

"You will not fail; you are an intelligent woman. Although you have intelligence, it is best to be careful how you display and use it. When you work in a castle with powerful people, you can make unnecessary enemies."

Angelina also looked in the mirror and liked her appearance. "I will keep that in mind. What time am I expected to go?"

"Right this moment. We will welcome the guests and remember do not speak or look when told to."

"Understood." Angelina followed Ioana to the entrance of the castle, where many guards were keeping an eye out for any wrongdoings. Angelina noticed the many carriages parked. Ioana mentioned that guests were the boyars and their wives. She watched as the guests entered the castle with pride and elegance. Servants bowed, welcomed, and motioned them to the dining hall.. The table had many food dishes, such as chorba, tripe, calf feet, nicely cut raw and cooked meat, meat and vegetable soups, fruits, and cooked potatoes. Wine and mead were in jars.

The boyars and their wives were impressed as they entered the dining room. Their voices echoed as servants served them their drink while waiting for their honored host. Angelina and Ioana eventually walked into the dining room, where Angelina was motioned to wait in the corner and not to interact with the guests.

A trumpeter walked into the dining room and blew on the trumpet, making everyone silent as they saw Vlad in his best attire with his wife, Minah, walking behind him. Alexandrei was noticed walking behind the couple while keeping his distance. Everyone cheered for the couple. The trio reached the main table and sat down. 

The cheers stopped as Vlad motioned everyone to sit. Vlad looked at his guests while smirking. "These fools, they don't know what awaits them."  The servants were ordered to leave the room, while the guards entered, standing by the walls, waiting for their orders. His eyes reached one of the room's corners; Angelina stood silently. She looked elegant; he was curious about what story she would tell. Vlad then stood up. "My honored guests, I thank you for coming today. I ensured that everything will be to everyone's taste. Once you have had your fill, you will witness our main event. So please, enjoy yourselves." Vlad sat while watching everyone eating and drinking. 

Minah motioned herself closer. "Husband, why is that woman here?"

"Because I will it. She is the main event."

"I was not informed."

"It had no importance to you. Do not try to make a fool out of me, wife."

Minah bit her lower lip, knowing that there was nothing she could do to convince her husband to kill or send her away. However, it didn't mean she couldn't make herself miserable. 

Everyone ate and drank to their hearts' content until the sun slowly set. Vlad knew it was time. He stood, and the chatter eventually quieted down. "I promised you all the main event, I invited one of my servants who has a gift for storytelling." He motioned Angelina to walk to the center. 

All eyes were on the young woman as she slowly walked to the center of the festivities. Her heart pounded rapidly and roughly. "It will be okay! I will be okay!"  She quickly glanced at him and felt annoyed that he smirked at her. There was nothing but silence as she arrived at the center; she took a deep breath. "H-Hello, honored guests. I-I am grateful to our Voivode and Lady Minah for the honor of speaking to you all today. Please give them a round of applause." Everyone cheered. "So far, so good." Once the cheers died down, she continued,  Many stories I know were said to be true. This story I will tell you is called 'The Black Charro.' The Charro is an entity that was once a living man from a humble family who loved him. However, the love of his family was not enough for Charro. You see, he was a man who had expensive tastes; he would even skip meals to save money."

Everyone was slowly getting intrigued by the story; Angelina continued, "Now, the man wasn't entirely lazy. He worked hard, but he grew tired of not having enough wealth. When his parents died, his misfortune grew, and his living situation worsened; he decided to do the unthinkable. He summoned the Devil himself."

Gasps and whispers echoed in the dining room. Vlad couldn't deny that he was intrigued by the story. "It would seem I have underestimated her."

 "The Charro asked for wealth, which the Devil agreed to grant him with one condition: The Charro had to give his soul as payment. Once the deal was agreed upon, the man received wealth, which he spent on clothes, houses, and women. However, wealth didn't bring him happiness as he grew older. It only brought loneliness, and he remembered his deal with the Devil. Fearing of going to hell, The Charro got on his best horse, took some bag of coins, and tried to run away. The Devil figured out what the man was up to and appeared before him. Just as the Devil was about to take The Charro's soul, the horse reared up and tried kicking the Devil. The horse's loyalty astonished the Devil. He made the man and horse to bone. The Devil asked the man for the favor of being a debt collector for all those who made a pact with him. If the Charro did his work well, he would allow any man who took the bag of gold coins that the Charro had, take his place." Angelina smiled as she put her hands back. "Legends say that the Black Charro wanders the Earth at night, collecting the souls who made a pact to the devil but also finding a greedy man to take the bag of gold and take his place."

When Angelina finished her story, everyone eventually cheered. Vlad stood and slowly clapped; Minah and Alexandrei reluctantly did the same. Angelina felt relieved that everyone enjoyed the story. "Thank you, YouTube!" 

Vlad stopped cheering and motioned everyone to stop. The room quieted down. "We must thank my servant for such a wonderful tale. Word is true of her talent. Now, I propose a final toast before the end of this celebration!"

"To our Voivode!" Everyone lifted their cups.

"To Wallachia! To God! For I will smite all my enemies and the traitors who wished to harm my homeland!" Then, Vlad poured the wine out of his cup. Angelina stood in the center and noticed the guards changed their stance. "Heh, you are traitors." The guest became silent. "Did you all think that I invited you here for the goodness of my heart? Bah! Don't think I have forgotten what you all have done to my father and brother! You betrayed them to gain wealth from the Ottoman savages!" The Boyars and their wives became uncomfortable; some tried to leave the room, but the guards blocked them. Vlad smirked. "Alexandrei, make certain that these traitors get the point."

Alexandrei whistled, and everything became chaotic. Guards immediately grabbed the nobles and motioned them out of the room. Angelina watched everything unfold, and the nobles' screams echoed. She didn't know what to do, but Vlad walked toward her as the chaos ensued. "You will meet me in my study. Follow me."

Not wanting to argue, Angelina did what she was told while watching many nobles being dragged away to an unknown destination. She couldn't help but feel something terrible was going to ensue.