Chapter 1:
She looked up at the castle in front of her anxiously. This was the right place, but there was no way the ad that led her here was real. It had to have been a fake or some practical joke or something. No one who lived in a place like this could possibly need money so badly as to rent out a room. She read over the printed advertisement in her hand again. "Looking for lodger. Reasonable rent. Linens, meals, and utilities included. First come, first serve." Then it listed the phone number and underneath she had scribbled the address when she called it a few days ago. Her Romanian was very poor, so she had some difficulty understanding the pre-recorded message, but she got the gist of things.
A gust of wind suddenly ripped the small scrap of paper from her hands and she barely had time to bring her scarf up around her face to shield herself from the bitterly cold late winter's wind. She looked up at the sky and saw what looked like a bad blizzard rolling in. Looks like she would be stuck here for at least the night if she didn't get this over with quickly. Lowering her head against the loose snow that blew up in the wind, she made her way up the slick path and pulled the cord for the doorbell.
The door immediately opened and she could feel the warmth pouring out from the room just beyond. Grateful for the warmth, she hurried in a shut the door behind her, stamping off the snow on her boots on the little welcome mat beneath her. She had taken a taxi to the nearest village and then walked from there, a trip which had taken her most of the day.
"You must be freezing," a soft, feminine male voice with a slight Romanian accent said in front of her. She looked up and saw a rather good looking man with long blonde hair back in a ponytail and twinkling blue eyes standing at the base of a grand staircase. He wore a slouchy neck cream colored sweater and tight, what looked like leather pants. He had a long knows, finely arched and trimmed eyebrows, a cheerful face, and long nails that she swore had sparkles on them. Her gaydar started going off like crazy. He quickly strode over to her and helped her out of her coat and other winter accessories, hanging them all neatly on a nearby coat rack.
"Thank you," she said, still shivering slightly from the cold she had been in. The man moved to take the large messenger bag that she used as a purse that was slung around her shoulder, but she politely stated that she was fine, thank you.
"You must be here about the advertisement," he said, daintily leading her by the arm into an adjoining, lavishly decorated sitting parlor. There was a roaring fire and she gratefully accepted the chair by it that was offered her.
"Yes," she said, rubbing her hands together. "There haven't been any other applicants are there?"
"Not a one," the man sighed, taking a poker and stoking the fire. "I've been so disappointed too. That ad's been out for at least a week, but none of the people who showed up ever even made it into the castle."
"I can almost understand why," she said, looking around her at all the gothic architecture and old portraits. "This place seems pretty intimidating." Then she realized something quite unusual that she should have noticed immediately. "How did you know I spoke English?"
The man's reaction was almost immediately, but she swore there was a flash of a flinch somewhere before his reaction.
"Darling, anyone with this large of a castle and you don't expect us to speak English?" he sassed playfully. He stood from his place by the hearth. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go get father so you two can talk business." And with that, he quickly rushed out.