A/N: I would like to warn that the most part of the chapter is about Freia who discovers the place and the atmosphere, so don't be surprised if you don't see Josef at first, but I promise he IS in this chapter!
Let me know if you like it :)
Betaed by: Ancholia

Chapter 1: A castle with no king

Freia slowly opened her eyes. Her head was heavy and she was completely confused. The ceiling above her showed a light blue sky with white clouds. Her body slowly woke up and she felt the sweetness of her bed. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what happened. Images of a handsome man, who stood in front of her with a cold smile on his face, slowly appeared. Her heart beat faster, the man became a monster who jumped on her. She felt his mouth on her arm. Freia suddenly opened her eyes. Pearls of sweat fell on her forehead. She remembered his velvet voice I want you to take a picture that shows the human part of me.

She knew now why she wasn't home, in her bed. She has an arrangement with a monster. Freia looked at the sky above her. It reminded her of a Da Vinci's sky. She suddenly saw that the sky was part of her bed, a painting. Four beams of dark wood held the sky and around them she could distinguish leaves carved in the wood. Freia looked at her bed and saw that it was a very old one. She stood up and discovered her room. She walked around the large bed, her hand caressing the soft sheets and watched the furnitures which decorated the place. The walls were delicately covered with cream tapestries, a desk made of the same dark wood than her bed stood between two large windows hidden by purple velvet curtains. Some chairs were between each side of the windows and in the middle of the room hung proudly a large crystal chandelier. Freia felt herself like a princess in a castle.

She went to one of the windows and opened the heavy curtain. The light from the outside dazzled her first, then she slowly discovered a large green garden. She walked to the other window and opened the curtains too. She saw more of the garden, which looked more like a parc. High old trees standing here and there reminded her of old english parcs. Hidden behind some trees, Freia distinguished a little lake. Where Am I? It can't be N.Y!

Then her look moved on the right side and she saw one wing of what she thought might be a house. Only the wing of the house showed that it looked more like a very old manor with two floors. She went to the other window of her room, stared at the opposite side and she saw the other wing of the manor. God, the place is huge! The walls were sculpted in the stone like the old english manors and the window's forms were different from the two floors.

Freia stared down and saw a courtyard with some tables and chairs in the middle. As she looked around, she understood that her room was in the last floor, in the middle of the manor. The view in front of her made her forget all the things that had happened before.

She slowly turned her back and stared at the room. The bed stood on her left side. Then she saw a table behind it with bags on it. She recognized them. She went to the table and opened them. The first one had her camera and the two others, her material with her laptop. A little smile appeared on her face. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea…

Next to the bed, she saw an old wardrobe. She went to it and opened the door. Inside she could see some of her clothes and some other, all in her size. She decided that it was time to take a shower. She wen to the bathroom and her breath was caught as she saw the size of the room. A grey marble shower and a white marble bath were in both side of the place. Between both, a large silver mirror hung above a large cream sink. Chandeliers on the walls gave a warm light which reflected the rainbow colors of the crystals. Freia stood in the middle of the room, her mouth wide opened, her eyes lightened by the beauty which surrounded her.

After a good and warm shower, Freia put on a pair of trousers and a white shirt. She went in the room and decided to leave her golden prison. She slowly opened the door's room and discovered the corridor. Her first impression was like the one in her room. The corridor was long, covered by a tender green tapestry and white porcelain chandeliers between each doors. Some tables stood against the wall with chinese vases or lamps.

Freia went down the corridor and arrived in front of a large staircase. She stopped in the hall and saw for the first time the door from where she came in. She had no memories of the day she arrived, she didn't even know how long she'd been there. As she stared at the door, she heard tender sounds and lifted her head. Above her, a huge crystal chandelier hung. Freia felt that she was in another world.

As she stared at the chandelier, she slowly noticed an opened door. She went silently to it and walked inside the room. It was a dining room, with a long and large table. One of the seat was ready for someone. A porcelain plate, a crystal glass and a china porcelain cup were waiting on the polished table. On her left side, a smaller table stood against the wall covered by a long lace tablemat. Freia could find on it everything she needed: coffee, warm water for tea with the best selection, toasted bread, jam and a large choice of warm food. Freia felt her stomach scream as she saw all the choice she had in front of her.

As she finished her breakfast, Freia felt herself alone. She was used to eat alone, but usually it was in her little apartment. That room was at least five time bigger than her place. Eating alone wasn't a pleasure, especially in a large room. The silence was her only partner there. She left the dining room and went to the entrance door. She opened it and the sound of the heavy door echoed in the hall.

The fresh air grabbed her. The sky was clear and the sun was hidden behind the high trees. Her footsteps drove in the white gravel which made a large circle in front of the house. In front of her, a road with a row of oaks drove to a large wrought iron portail. Freia made some steps further and then turned her back to see the front façade of the house. It was a wonderful old manor. She stared at the windows and no rooms had lights inside. The place was completely empty.

Freia looked around and as she saw the sky, a thought came through her mind. He might be sleeping in his luxurious coffin… Vampires can't stand sun light, right? But, no servants? Weird… maybe they're vampires too… She went round the manor and saw the two large wings. She understood that the architecture made a U and in the middle she distinguished the windows of her room. All the rooms were dark, there were only the lights coming from the dining room. She looked at the parc which streched very far. She began to walk and realized that the place was gigantic. She went to the lake where swans danced slowly on the water.

She turned back to the castle and as she saw the manor in front of her, she began to think that maybe she was in England. An old feeling grabbed her, she wanted to take pictures. The place was amazing, the colors declined from a large palette of green, to blue and grey.

As she reached the door of the terrace, Freia distinguished a figure standing behing the glass of the door. She could see a woman. Her allure was severe and cold; she was dressed in a black old fashioned dress. She was around 30 years old, but as Freia came closer she could see that the woman had a long history in her eyes. She stopped in front of the closed door. The woman opened it and with a cold voice she said "You must be our guest. My name is Eva. I'm the housekeeper."

Freia shivered as she heard her voice. Is she a vampire too? She caught a strange look in her eyes, like if the woman knew what she was thinking. "My name is Freia Griffin and I'm the photographer."

"I know. The master told me about you. Please, follow me."

Freia said nothing and followed the housekeeper. Their steps on the marble echoed in the manor. They walked down a large corridor which divided two living rooms by arches of wood. Then they passed a large door. Freia stopped a second and studied it. The color of the wood was different from the other one. The door was almost black and she could distinguish engravings on it. She felt something strange, the room surely hid something. His coffin maybe?

"Hum. Miss Griffin, follow me, please."

Freia understood by Eva's cold voice, that the room was off limit. She followed her and she quickly saw where the housekeeper was taking her.

Eva opened the door and let Freia coming in. She was back in her room. Before the housekeeper closed the door, Freia asked her "do you know when your master will come? I need to know so I can prepare my material."

The woman didn't even look at her as she answered "He'll ask for you in time." Then she closed the door. Freia stood in the middle of her room, alone, again. She went to the table where her camera lay and began to clean it.

The outside light slowly began to sink and Freia was still in her room, alone. She'd turn on the lights of the chandelier but she had nothing to do. She'd taken some picture of the parc. The light had changed with the sky turning into grey. It was going to rain that night. She suddenly realized that she was hungry. She went to the door and left her room.

Downstairs, the chandelier lightened the hall. The dining room's door was opened and the lights were on. She went inside and saw that the same place was ready for her. Dinner was served in front of her plate. Nice, I'm eating alone, again…

After dinner, she walked to the living room, hoping that the "master" was waiting for her. Everything was dark. The only light came from the chandelier behind her. The master wasn't there. Freia was disappointed; she'd thought that she would see him with the night coming. She looked around, she was alone.

She decided to go back to her room and sleep. She passed the large door and slowed down. Freia was attracted by it. She saw her hand fly on the doorknob. She looked one more time around. The cold and scary Eva wasn't there. Finally she tried to open it, but as she'd thought, it was closed. Disappointed, again, Freia walked back to her room. She tried to sleep, but somehow she felt herself watched. She didn't know if it was a sensation, or the fear to be woken up by him, but Freia didn't sleep that night.

It had been one week now that Freia'd arrived in the manor and she hadn't seen a sign of the master. She'd begun to eat in her room instead of the dining room. She'd met Eva some times in the day, but the woman had nothing to tell her. She definitely was a bad company.

Freia looked outside through her window. It was night, the sky was clear. She could see hundreds of stars and the moon was low in the sky, reflecting itself in the lake. The scene was beautiful, but Freia began to think that the whole situation was a bad joke. She decided that it was the last night in that manor. She would leave the day after.

She took her camera and went outside her room. She wanted to take some pictures of the beautiful light of the moon. She slowly went downstairs; she was afraid to awake Eva and have to explain why she was up. The hall was completely dark, only the moon lightened the place through the windows. As she walked to the door, she was suddenly stopped by two lights which approached the manor. Freia was grabbed by a sudden fear and hid behind the wall. She tried to look outside and saw a large black limo park in front of the manor.

A tall driver went out of the car, walked to the back door and opened it. Freia could hear laughs. It was coming from women. She saw three figures stepping out. Her heart began to beat faster. What was she going to do? She hid behind the curtains and hoped that they wouldn't come in.

The limo's motor started again and she saw it leave the place. Three women were outside, talking and laughing. Freia began to hear that the voices moved away from the door. God, where are they going? Are they vampires too?

Freia slowly went to the door and tried to open it silently. She stepped outside and saw no one outside. Then she heard them. The women were still there and they were walking to the parc. Freia decided to follow them. If they were there, maybe he was; she had to know. She followed the voices and when she was on the back side of the manor, she could distinguish three tall figures under the moonlight. The women were thin and walked lightly on the humid grass. They turned suddenly behind a large tree and Freia began to run. She was afraid to lose them.

As she reached the tree, Freia discovered a way, she'd never noticed before. She followed it and heard the women talking happily. Then something began to appear behind other trees. Her heart beat fast by excitement. A monument was revealed gradually by the moon. The voiced were now gone. She understood that they were inside. She followed the little way and saw that it was now guiding by candles. He must be there…

Freia stood in front of the entry; three steps reached the door, dominated by two large columns like a grec temple. She could hardly distinguish the door hidden in the shadow of the night. She reached the stairs and slowly discovered the lines of the entry. A heavy and high door stood in front of her. She could see women's figures covering it and the scene showed them playing with water. She lifted her hand which shivered and slowly pushed the door. Silence. Freia came in and heard nothing. There were small candles standing each side of the entry, but nothing else. She walked some steps and then the moonlight lightened the place. Freia stood next to a marble balustrade which overhung an incredible tropical garden. Above it, there was a large dome only made by glass crossed by the moonlight. In the middle of the trees, Freia saw a marble floor which outlined circles in black and white. She followed the balustrade and found a staircase. As she went down, Freia discovered a new world lost in tropical trees. Everything was asleep, but as she walked, tropical birds and butterflies slowly moved. When she came to the marble circle, she discovered that it was another staircase, going far down. She stood next to the first step looking down. She could see nothing, only steps and darkness. Then a little laugh escaped from the shadows. They're downstairs!

She took a deep breath and began to follow the steps. She looked above and saw the full moon in the middle of the dome. When she reached the last step, Freia saw only darkness. She could only hear her intense breath through the heavy silence. She walked further and then, behind the stairs, she saw two large purple candles. Between them a high door was closed, but she could see a ray of light escaping from it.

Freia looked at it and hesitated before she walked towards. Her hands shivered and her heart jumped in her chest. She pulled her ear on the door and heard the women laughing. She put her hand on the doorknob and slowly opened it. A wave of light drowned her as she walked in. Tall black marble columns made a large circle in the room and connected long white voiles. Freia held herself in the shadow, against the wall and looked through the voiles. She saw a large bed in the middle of the circle with the three women almost naked sitting and laughing on it. The atmosphere was warm, erotic. Then she saw him, lying in the middle. Her heart stopped beating as she saw him. There he was, finally. It had been one week waiting for him and he was now playing with his harem.

She couldn't really see what he was doing. She just distinguished that he held the hand of one of the women. Freia made a step further and tried to see what happened. She heard the woman moan as the other were caressing his hair. Her eyes widened. He was sucking the arm and bit it. The woman let a small scream of pleasure escape. Freia saw now that he drank her blood. She felt herself suddenly bad, her head was fuzzy and she needed air. As she turned, she saw his eyes on hers. Scared she ran to the door and left the temple.