Attention: Since English is not my mothertongue you might find some spelling mistakes or syntax errors. I apologize in advance. My mothertongue is Swiss-German so I normally imagine a sentence in German and try to translate it as well as possible into English, sometimes there is a lack of vocabulary or I don't find a match or the appropriate idiom but I want to improve my English and become a better writer. Another thing I want to make clear is that I use „..." to introduce direct speech! „ are not commas but the German quotation marks, just to avoid confusion.
Maria's Butler III: Frights are no delights
Chapter 1: The first shock
The last day broke over Monte Marcone, a little town close to the Adriatic Sea. After a successful premiere of Maria's Butler II and the expected increased demand for a third part, the film company had decided to grant Al Capello a permission to shoot in Transilvania. The director had been beside himself with joy, not only because of the filming permit, but also because his whole crew had agreed on realizing his magnum opus in today's central Romania.
Right now, Al Capello was bent over a stack of sheets, trying to come up with a consistent storyline about Lady Maria's scariest adventure. He knew how the movie should start, he knew the names and traits of newly introduced film characters, but he struggled with the leitmotiv. There had to be love and fear, frights and relieves, but he lacked the ultimative plot twist. Angry about himself, he crumpled a sheet of paper, just as a breath of wind extinguished the light of a single candle on his desk. The chubby director fished a matchbox out of his trousers, but every time he attempted to light the match, it would immediately go out. „Strange, very strange," he murmured.
Meanwhile, James clinged to his team-mate, laying an arm around her waist, carefully spooning her. Jessie reached for his hand and interlaced her fingers with his. „Morning, sweetheart," he whispered into her ear, placing a quick kiss on her neck. Jessie smiled, but didn't reply.
Much had changed, since the two agents were officially dating. James had become even more thoughtful. He would iron her costumes, fix her hair and sweeten her days with tasty tidbits. Jessie received what she had always dreamed of. A careful and attentive partner, a kind-hearted boyfriend and a counterpart that finally reciprocated her feelings. He had always been obliging, loyal and reliable, but now he was supporting her with so much commitment that she was literally on cloud nine.
Jessie turned around, facing her partner. She nestled into his chest, when suddenly, she would feel someone pulling away the blanket.
„Hurry up, yous dwo lovebirds! Al Capello is waiting for us!" a voice shouted and again, someone pinched Jessie's little toe. She gave a loud groan. „Don't tell me he's already awake, go and feed him, James," Jessie ordered, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. James buried his face in one of the many pillows in their bed. „It's your turn, Jess," he yawned abundantly, threatening to doze off again. „Hey!" Meowth was jumping up and down the mattress. „Look at yous! Lolling around while Hollywood is waiting for us. Wake up!" The cat-Pokémon was now nudging Jessie's cheek. „Stop it!" she slapped him against the wall, pulling the blanket over her head. Meowth's patience was slowly coming to an end.
He could hear them sniggering and whispering under the linen sheets.
„As yous please," Meowth thought, „I'll give them a taste of my Fury Swipes," he crawled onto their bed, snatched off the sheets and began to bare his claws. James felt the first scratches on his face. „What are you doing, stop it, Meowth!" he threw his hands up in front of his face. „My delicate face," Jessie yelled. They both reached for Meowth's arms, pulling them apart. „How dare you! You fleabag! This face is worth a mint. No actress means no job for a second-class assistant director," she was beside herself with rage.
James put a hand on her shoulder.
„Don't get aggravated, Jess! He's right. We should pack our few things and get ready for a long, very long journey by train," he stifled another yawn as he stretched his limbs. „I'm going to the bathroom," James stood up and walked past the makeup mirror. A casual glance into the looking glass made him stop for a moment. Besides his tousled hair, he thought to have seen a tiny light anomaly shining bright. James shook his head and eyed the mirror again. No light, only his reflection and a full wardrobe on one of the chairs in Jessie's bedroom.
Misty was already sitting at the breakfast table, mindfully observing Togepi shifting from one leg to the other. Ash took a seat next to her and reached for one of the chocolate merendine. „Something wrong, Misty?" he wondered, pleasurably muching his tartlet. Misty rested her head on her left hand. She sighed. „I don't know. The whole morning, Togepi has been acting quite edgily," she replied, trying to catch her young jitterbug. „Don't worry. Togepi is probably excited to go on a journey," Ash surmised, dedicating his full attention to a fruit bowl near the kitchensink. „You might be right," Misty nodded, trying to be less worried about Togepi's odd behaviour.
She and Ash took notice of Al Capello and how he essayed to heave the heavy suitcases into the van. Jessie had completely exaggerated with her luggage and the souvenirs, but neither the hospitable Italians nor James and the director had dared to ruin her generous mood.
James opened the water tap and splashed his face with a few handfuls of cold water, he rubbed his cheeks, enjoying the chillness that seemed to revive him. He was standing in front of the bathroom mirror and again, he could have sworn that someone was standing right behind him. There seemed to be a shadow figure watching him, but when James turned around, he realized that it was only Jessie's fleecy bathrobe that had tricked his mind. James got undressed and leaped into the shower. A long and extensive shower would distract him from the thought of shooting a scary movie in an even scarier environment shrouded in rumours and stories.
As soon as everyone had packaged their belongings, the crew drove off to the train station in Pescara. Jessie called on Al Capello to reveal the story of the last part of the trilogy, as soon as they would have taken a seat in two train compartments. She, James and Meowth were sitting vis-à-vis two elderly ladies that were obviously gossiping about her voluminous mane. James tried to calm his girlfriend down who was already aiming her fist at the grannies. „Jess, Jess. Don't you want to hear more about the chosen location and the plot?" he asked her, rocking her back and forth. She snorted derisively. „For all I care," Jessie replied, running her fingers through her magenta hair.
Al Capello cleared his throat and adressed his laymen. „As you all know, we're going to shoot the last part of my magnificent trilogy in Transilvania," he began. One of the old ladies burst out laughing. „Ha! Transilvania. I heard rumours about this part of Romania that my hair stood on end," she told them. James blanched, loosening his collar.
„Wh...what ru...rumours?" he wanted to know. „Oh, just horror stories about blood and thunder, but don't worry, those are mostly family matters," she pat his thigh. Jessie gave her a nasty look. „Stop filling him with anxiety, he's already a scaredy-cat. I'm sure murders are not the order of the day where we're going to shoot the short," she claimed self-assertively, even though she felt slightly groggy.
„And where is your filming location?" the other lady broached the subject again.
Al Capello got a chance to speak.
„The famous old manor in Turda," he explained. One of the ladie's heart missed a beat. It certainly shook her from her seat, not least because of a lightning striking in the train's immediate vicinity. „What's going on?" Ash took a look outside the window. It was that time that the blue sky gradually intensified in increasingly dark shadows and the rain was set. James stared spellbound at the ladies. „What do you know about the manor in Turda?" he inquiried.
„It's an uncanny masonry, full of secrets and mysteries. People only dare to spend a single night within its four walls," her friend consented to it. „She's absolutely right. Witnesses told us about knocks and someone having a shuffling gait. They said they had seen indefinable apparitions," she continued. James' eyes widened.
„Are you telling me that the manor is haunted?" he swallowed hard, not sure if he were ready to stay at this creepy Inn.
„That's complete nonsense!" Misty intervened, waving her hand as if to wipe off James' concerns. The ladies ogled her. One of the aged passengers drew closer to her.
„Oh, a nonbeliever," she simpered. „That's right!" Misty snubbed her, dedicating her full attention to the bushes and houses flying by, but James ate the whole story up from the voyagers. The woman wearing an outdated felt hat approached him.
„Look out for the little girl..."