The Bride of Dracula

The Travel

For the most part the journey to Sighisoara was uneventful, as Abe made sure the group stopped in villages and Inns. The people here were highly paranoid though, understandable when you are ruled by a monster. Often Abe had to delve into his knowledge of languages and explain that they were Vampire Hunters, then the Inns would be opened to them. More often then not the second the sun went down the doors were locked and barred. The windows closed, the curtains drawn. It was a mixture of amusing and sad; amusing because the Inn keepers at times did silly things to keep the vampires away including placing reeds of Garlic at the windows and doors. Sad because it showed how much in fear the people were of this beast, one Innkeeper claimed Dracula liked virgin girls and had his daughters locked in the basement hidden away once darkness fell. As if any of this would stop a vampire or Dracula if he so choose to show himself.

It was equally sad because they were not here to slay the master vampire only to take a girl to safety. More than anything Lecura wanted to slay the black hearted monster she wanted to avenge those who were dead because of him. But since she could not she would settle for denying the beast this girl and keep her safe.

However the journey was not completely event free a few times the group was late getting to a village and encountered the odd vampire. Nothing too strenuous or demanding, but still the encounters grew more and more frequent. Mostly Lecura got the feeling the odd vampire they encountered was more of a test then anything, for at times it felt like they were being watched.

Eventually though the group made it to Sighisoara which was not much comfort as the village looked like it had seen better days. In fact it looked run down and a feeling of hopelessness and despair made Lecura want to gag. 'Why does it feel like this is where hope goes to die?' She wondered as they quietly rode through town. The people had come out to see the newcomers for a brief moment and many were scurrying back inside unwilling to risk themselves against a potential danger. Eventually a thin balding man came out and was speaking in the native tongue, he sounded nervous which was all Lecura could tell. She was not as well versed in languages as her Uncle who knew several from his travels. No she knew French, Gaelic, and some Italian, so she let Abe do all the talking and was obviously calming the village leader down as he explained they were Vampire Hunters.

Instead she looked around and noticed more reeds of Garlic, and crosses obviously to ward off Dracula and his minions. "He says the other groups of hunters arrived two days ago and are at the Inn up the road. Some were foolish and camped outside, not all the hunters made it this far."

Hearing her Uncle explain, Lecura looked at Abe thinking what fools they must have been to think they could wonder about after dark in such a dangerous place. "Did they find the clearing where this girl is suppose to be?"

"Not sure they only arrived a few days ago and some are still recovering from injuries. They may not have had the chance to look." Abe answered. "We will go to the Inn see what can be done and rest. In the morning we can look for the clearing."

Abe turned back to the man saying something that she guessed was thank you and they rode on towards the Inn, and stables. Dismounting the group took their gear and came into the Inn where some of the hunter groups were already in the main room. However not all crews were from the boat, the main dining hall had a number of hunters eating and drinking. As Abe booked them some rooms to stay in Lecura looked around more carefully at the groups and moved further into the Inn. These ones seemed smarter more professional, they were drinking, but not as heavily. Plus as more looked to the bar where her group stood the quieter they got finally noticing the new arrivals.

"Hmph More hunters, hopefully this group has more sense." One of the men grumbled from the table with a lovely French accent. Lecura caught the eye of the Frenchmen with black curly hair.

"Enough sense to know when someone talks about us as well as when to watch the person very closely." Lecura replied in French then smirked at him.

"You speak French, and have a lovely accent as well. Are you the other hunters from the boat?" He asked.

"Yes we are. We took a different route to avoid dying with fools that preferred to travel at night." Lecura answered, earning her a smile from the man.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Lecura Winters."

"Lecura? Strange name."

"Yes it would be, it is the name I choose for myself." Lecura answered.

"Was the name your parents gifted you with not enough?" As he took a drink of his ale.

"No it was a lovely name, but for another life one that I gave up. So you can simply call me Lecura, and you? What is your name?" Lecura asked.

"My name is Julien Lefèvre, and the rabble you see here is my team."

"Why did you not take the boat?" Lecura asked.

"We came down through the Netherlands." Julien explained. Lecura felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face her Uncle. Abe smiled at Julien before looking to his niece.

"The rooms are booked and we are going to get some food." Abe said gesturing at the table in the far corner before heading that way. Again Lecura stood alone as she looked back at Julien.

"Your father?" Julien asked.

"My uncle." Lecura corrected.

"Well I had best let you go and have dinner. It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Lecura." Julien said as he had risen from his seat and took her hand bring it to his lips to press a gentle kiss there. He continued to stare into her eyes during the kiss then grinned before speaking in French. "I hope we will see more of each other in the future."

"Me too. It was a pleasure meeting you Julien." With that Lecura turned and headed for the table where her companions now sat. There they ordered food and relaxed after a lengthy journey to get there. Yet their work was only just beginning.