~7~

"How long have I and Vlad been married, Katerina?" I asked the old woman once I was dressed in a long, white shirt and drying my hair by the fireplace.

Katerina wrapped my favourite blanket around my shoulders, then sat down next to me on the oak bench.

"Only a couple of weeks, my lady. A very short two weeks before your husband was called in a battle, leaving you here. And then, while he was gone..."

Her voice faded in the equivalent of a shrug, so I finished her sentence, "I died."

"You were killed, Lady Samara!" she exclaimed, suddenly angry. "And we never found out who did it, only that... it was one of your husband's vampire 'friends'!"

I raised one hand to my neck thoughtfully, feeling an imaginary pain, as if from an old wound, exactly where my birthmark was. More memories were finding their way back into my forgetful mind in a slow, weak, but relentless trickle.

"But he, my husband, wasn't a vampire at the time, am I right?"

"Yes, you are. He was just like you. But some of his relatives, most of his friends, and the awful knights, the Order of the Dragon, were all vampires. Also, there were voices that young Lord Radu had himself changed into a vampire, too. We never saw much of him back then. Since you had refused to marry him, Radu became quite wild and careless, always in one battle or another."

I gasped, shocked. Was I supposed to marry Radu back then? I did not remember this.

The story Katerina was telling me began to sound like a fairy tale, all about brave lords and beautiful ladies, great love, and even greater danger. I couldn't believe I was one of its protagonists. My poor head was starting to spin, confused by all the new images and information.

Katerina noticed my astonishment and rushed to explain. "We, you and I, were sent here when you were only fifteen. Both of your parents had died, and as Lord Vlad's father was the only remaining, distant relative of your deceased parents, he was to look after you. You came here as a promised bride of his youngest son, Lord Radu."

I could feel how I paled, all colour leaving my face in a rush even as I shivered at hearing this. Katerina looked at me, gauging my reaction, then continued.

"Yes, you never quite liked Lord Radu, never got used to him, even though he loved you deeply. Instead, you fell in love with the one you were not supposed to love, Lord Vlad. And he, he loved you even more, if that was possible. And he still does," she muttered musingly, contemplating the fire.

I was impatient to know more, but I didn't want to rush her. Luckily, after a while, she decided to continue.

"Five years passed, and you grew up into a beautiful young woman who only had eyes for Lord Vlad. Even though Lord Radu knew about your love for his brother, he refused to release you. You were his promised bride, and he still wanted to marry you."

"But why was I to marry him and not his brother?"

"Because Lord Vlad, as the eldest remaining of three sons, became the Prince of Wallachia after his father's death, only a year after we had come here. He was expected to marry the daughter of the King of Hungary, his ally against the wild and cruel Turks."

It seemed that Katerina's story was coming to a close, and I was glad; it was too much to take in.

"Anyway, your Lord Vlad married you secretly, and you spent the two weeks after your wedding as the happiest couple I had ever seen. Then, he had to leave, and you stayed here, waiting for him to return. But you never met anymore. A few weeks had passed since his departure, before the voices about him being captured and tortured, or killed by the enemy, reached the castle. You were desperate, there was no consoling you. Then, one day, you disappeared without a trace, and your body was found the day after, at the edge of the forest, drained of all blood," Katerina concluded her story.

My heart started to beat madly, as broken shards of my forgotten life passed in front of my eyes, and dark images crawled out from the lightless corners of my memory, to be dragged back to life by the blazing fire in front of me.

I recalled my fear and anticipation from my first days in this castle and my reserved friendship with Radu, which later turned into deep dislike. My eyes filled with tears when I remembered how I fell in love at first sight with Vlad, and I shivered with terror when I saw myself standing at the edge of the dark forest alone, feeling a sharp pain in my neck, sensing the life abandoning my body along with my blood.

I was so absorbed in my painful memories that I jumped at hearing the sudden sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Is your lady ready to talk to me now, Katerina?" Vlad's voice demanded of my nurse politely.

"Quite ready, my lord," she replied, even though from her tone I felt that she wasn't really sure about it. What did she have against him?

Katerina stood up, informing me, "I will be in my room, should you need me. Good night, Lady Samara, my lord." Then she was gone.

Vlad reached me by the fire and sat down next to me, smiling. I smiled back, trying to disperse my disturbing memories, and leaned against him. He put his arm around me, making me feel instantly better, and I sighed deeply, enjoying the feeling of comfort and safety his proximity was giving me.

"I have something for you, Samara," he said after a few moments of silence, only interrupted by the crackling of the burning wood.

From a pocket of his jacket, he retrieved a ring, a plain, smooth band of gold, adorned with a single, tear-shaped diamond. It glimmered and shone beautifully in the dancing flames of the fire.

"My wedding ring," I whispered, recognising it, tears threatening.

"Yes," he confirmed, his own voice breaking with emotion. "The ring you wore for such a short time."

He took my left hand in his reverently and put the ring on my finger.

"I love you," he said, "I always have, and I always will."

"I love you, too," I said, my voice thick with tears I didn't want to shed.

"May I kiss you, Samara?" he murmured.

I only nodded, stunned into silence by his question. Why should he ask?

Then our lips met, tentatively at first, his soft and passionate touched mine, expecting and inviting. He cupped my face, pulling me closer, and my lips parted for him, allowing him to deepen the kiss. I laced my fingers through his hair, bringing him closer yet, willing myself to make him feel all of my centuries lasting love through that one kiss. I wished the kiss would last forever, I didn't care about anything else in the world. It was just us in this precious moment in time, and everything was perfect this way. But, too soon, he pulled away, leaving me breathless.

I leaned my forehead against his chest, willing my crazily beating heart to slow down. Vlad took my hands in his, stroking my knuckles gently with his thumbs, his own ring glimmering softly in the glow of the fire.

When I looked at him again, there was deep sadness in his beautiful eyes.

"Sooner or later, I'll have to take you back, to the place where you belong now, my love, and then I shall feel even more alone and... " he said, his voice fading into a tortured whisper, "...how shall I go on then?"

I put my hand on his lips, unwilling to hear this.

"I'm not leaving you again. I couldn't live without you, not anymore. I'm staying with you," I said without hesitation.

"You don't understand," he said, despair seeping through his now rising voice. "They took you away from me once, they will try again..."

"Who will, and why? Maybe nothing will happen this time. We can do this, we can try!" I exclaimed, getting angry at his lack of courage. "Maybe all will go well, and we can live together forever!" But could I live forever, like him? I am just a human... My subconscious warned me.

He just shook his head, completely unconvinced.

"This place is my prison. My golden cage. I'm trapped here, paying for what I've done. I've sinned greatly, Samara, and I accept my punishment. But you, my love, you deserve so much more," he whispered, caressing my cheek and wiping away a couple of frustrated tears that managed to escape my eyes.

His hand was soft and warm from sitting so close to the fire. It surprised me, as I had noticed how he usually felt cold.

"I don't understand how you managed to follow me here, or if you could stay, even if this was a safe, suitable place," he mused.

"What happens in my world while I'm here?" I asked, distracted from our previous subject by his train of thought. "Will they notice that I've vanished?"

A sudden worry about what Lia and Anne might think when they notice I've disappeared off the face of earth, followed by the thought about my parents waiting for me back at home, confused me entirely. It was so difficult to make any sense of this situation.

"I don't know," he admitted, shaking his head. His eyes bore into mine, trying to assess my thoughts and emotions. "Since you have... left, everything in this place is different, strange. The war ended eventually, but all the rest remained the same. Only the seasons change, and the humans-- they are born and die... The time seems to go on, but alters nothing. Not here. It's like a curse. We are all trapped here. I know from when you come from, how much time has passed, only because the passage opens once a year and I speak to those whom I meet on the other side."

"So you can go out, into my world, in the castle..." I said, desperately trying to understand.

"Yes. It's the only place I can go from here. That one night of the year."

That meant he would have to wait a year before he could try to take me back. There was no point in worrying about anything right now then, I could do nothing for those whom I left outside, whether they perceived my disappearance or not. My situation was so beyond my understanding that there was no reason to puzzle and despair about it too much, and waste my precious, maybe counted moments by his side.

We will see about the counted, I tried to encourage myself.

Nothing was lost yet. A year was a long time, at least in my world. I might make him forget that he meant to take me back.

I would find a way for us to stay together.

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