Lost in the Castle

~10~

When we reached my chamber again, hand in hand, reluctant to let go of each other like two infatuated teens, Katerina was already up, waiting for me impatiently.

She must have heard us coming because she stood very still by the door, her face ever so serious, chin up, a stern look in her eyes, prepared to tell me off. I was suddenly very conscious about our joined hands and my flushed cheeks.

Just what exactly is her problem? Vlad would never do anything to hurt me, and there she was, so cold and untrusting.

She raised one of her eyebrows at me in a silent enquiry when she noticed that I was already dressed, making me blush as I remembered Vlad's fingers trailing up my back, closing all the buttons of my gown.

I looked at him and caught him watching me, a knowing smile playing on his lips. That made me blush even more. Great. I was a twenty-one year old woman who grew up in the modern world of the new millennium, and here I was, blushing scarlet in front of these two.

I wanted to stand my ground and tell Katerina that I was old enough to know what I was doing, but Vlad squeezed my hand a little tighter and spoke before I could find the appropriate words.

"Katerina," he said, undisturbed by her reaction, "get us some breakfast, and then take some rest, your lady is mine for the day, we won't need you until tonight."

My heart leapt with joy despite Katerina's deep frown.

"Very well, my lord," she said drily, exiting the room.

"I'm sorry," I said when we were alone again, feeling bad for Katerina's behaviour. "I guess she means well."

"Don't worry about her, Samara. She's been waiting for you for such a long time... she doesn't want to share you now," Vlad said, stroking my cheek gently with the back of his hand, his voice full of understanding. I closed my eyes and leaned into the caress, enjoying his touch.

"What would you like to do today?"he asked me after a short while. I opened my eyes again to look at him, and what I saw in his eyes made my heart stumble, stop, and then start racing crazily. They were so full of love, two pieces of mirror reflecting my own feelings for him.

We stood perfectly still, speechless for a few moments, lost in each other.

Then I walked over to the window and looked outside at the breathtaking countryside lying deep underneath. The sun was higher now, caressing the forests and the meadows with its soft rays, warming them up. I could see a thin, glittering veil of fog raising slowly from the ground, like a frozen breath, as if the beautiful landscape was alive and breathing just like me. Suddenly, I felt closed, suffocating inside my room, and couldn't wait to be outside.

I turned around to face him and asked, hoping he wouldn't refuse, "Can we go out, please?"

He smiled and nodded silently, then joined me by the window. He cupped my face and kissed me softly, caressing my face again. "Anything you like," he said even as the door opened.

I could feel a staring gaze pierce through my back and turned in search of it. There she was again, the blue-eyed maid, looking at me intently from across the room, unconcealed hatred seeping through her gaze. When she noticed me staring back at her, she cast her eyes down, curtsying silently.

Katerina, who followed the maid inside, dismissed her before she could properly enter my chamber. She really didn't like the girl, I noticed with some satisfaction.

"Your breakfast, Lady Samara, my lord," she announced and set out a couple of trays laden with food on the table by the window, making us move away from each other. Seriously, she is such a nuisance sometimes, I thought.