Lost in the Castle

~15~

"Did your son ever live here with you?" I asked after a while, not wanting to believe that his own son would abandon him. He did not deserve that.

"Yes, he did," Vlad admitted, making me feel better. At least he had someone he cared about by his side in this long and apparently dismal life.

"After he had had enough of being a vampire, a slave of his addiction to human blood like the others, he came here asking me to teach him to live a normal life, or as close to normal as possible, again. It took me long enough to do so, and having him around changed me. We started frequenting a few others of our kind. Even though I preferred solitude, I couldn't close my son here with only myself and a few servants and knights for company. He was young and needed to socialise," Vlad said, his eyes full of memories of what probably was the better part of his long existence. "He saved me as much as I saved him, I suppose." He shrugged.

"And yet, when you met him today, you acted as if you were not happy to see him!" I exclaimed.

"You are right. That wasn't nice of me. He appeared at the wrong moment. I meant to tell you about him before you two would meet, but I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me." Vlad looked at me inquiringly, as if he still wasn't sure of my reaction, then added, "Young Vlad helped me pull through my darkest moments."

Vlad traced his cool finger along the contours of my face gently, lighting thousands of little fires under my skin, drawing all my blood into my face again. He smiled at my obvious reaction to his touch. It was very distracting, and I wondered if he wanted me to forget what we were talking about... What was he saying? I started to relax slowly, feeling that our serious talk was coming to its end.

"I guess my son is the only reason I didn't go mad over the centuries of my life without you," he said, sighing heavily, his voice wistful again.

"I'll have to thank him then," I announced, resolved, "maybe you should make him stay here with us now. He could live here, the castle is big enough..."

"I heard that you two have already gotten to know each other," he interrupted me mid-sentence, "Young Vlad wisely pointed out that the spiral staircase might be a dangerous place for you-- anyone who knows this castle could use it as an access to your chamber. Here," he said, taking a large skeleton key from his pocket. "I locked it, but the key is yours. You're not a prisoner here. However, I beg you, Samara, be careful when any of the guests are around. Make sure to lock it every time, and don't hesitate to call the knights if you need anything while I'm not here."

Taking the key from his palm and placing it next to us on the wooden bench, I nodded silently, not knowing what to say. His words reminded me again that it was really dangerous for me to be here, but to me, it didn't feel so. This was my home. I felt very safe right now.

I observed the glowing embers in the fireplace. The flames dancing around them were much lower now, and the small pieces of burning wood looked like shiny, dazzling amber. After a while, Vlad pulled me back from my reverie, returning to our previous conversation. He placed his hand under my chin, making me look away from the fire and into his eyes.

"You never stop surprising me, you know? Wouldn't you really mind having my son around your house?" he asked cautiously, looking... Was it guilt in his eyes?

"Of course I wouldn't," I said, meaning it. "How could I? He is your son, and even though I'm not his mother, I'm glad you have him. It doesn't matter that you have married again... and he is another woman's child..." I started stumbling over my words, overcome by emotions, incredibly jealous of the other woman who had given him a son. It should have been me, not her. But I had to finish. "I can't even imagine how hard it all must have been for you!"