"Koukol, you can finish that later. Father needs you to prepare the dinner table now." Anneliese rolled over on the bed to find Herbert and Koukol in her room. Koukol was holding a broom and dust pan and he had swept the broken stained glass into a large pile. Herbert was carrying an armful of clothing which he brought over to her. When he dumped them on the bed beside her she crinkled her nose when she realized they were all corsets and stockings. Herbert watched as Koukol hobbled out of the room and when the hunchback closed the door behind him, Herbert put his attention on Anneliese. "Father asked me to come help you dress for dinner."
"What-" Anneliese flinched at the pain in her throat. She coughed a few times and wished she had a cool glass of water to soothe it. The thought of that cool glass of water made her sigh; she hadn't had a drink in hours. "What time is it?" Her voice was raspy and it hurt to talk but she ignored the pain. Herbert shrugged as he arranged the undergarments he had placed on the bed.
"Nine. Or maybe ten. I'm not really sure. I just know Father is waiting for you to join him for dinner so we have to hurry. Normally he is a patient man but he most certainly is not being very patient tonight." Herbert lowered his voice a little. "I can't imagine why," he said as he reached out to trace a finger over the large bruise on Anneliese's jaw. Anneliese quickly slapped his hand away.
"Keep your hands off of me!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that. That is unless you think you can lace up this corset on your own." He dropped a corset on her lap and went on. "It laces up in the back so I'm not sure-"
"I will not wear this," Anneliese said evenly and she pushed the garment off of her lap and onto the floor. Herbert quickly picked it up and examined it closely.
"You are a rude little thing, aren't you!" He snapped. "Is this how you repay our hospitality? By carelessly tossing expensive things that don't even belong to you around like they are junk?"
"Hospitality? Your father has locked me in this room, hit me, choked me and threatened to kill me!" Anneliese climbed out of the bed as she spoke so she could be eye to eye with Herbert. "I wouldn't call that hospitality!"
"Come now, there's no reason to get so worked up." Herbert placed is hands firmly on Anneliese's shoulders and forced her to sit back down on the bed. "It all could have been avoided if you just hadn't provoked him." Anneliese's eyes narrowed as the anger continued to build up inside her.
"Are you suggesting this is all my fault? I didn't ask for any of this!" She tried to stand up but Herbert pushed her down again.
"You broke one of his windows," he reminded her. "You tried to break into our home, you attacked him twice since you have been here and you threatened his life." Anneliese stared at Herbert unable to believe what she was hearing.
"You are unbelievable," she said softly as she shook her head. "Truly unbelievable..."
"Now we really must hurry and make you presentable." Herbert looked Anneliese over and frowned. "Well... as presentable as possible. Start with these while I pick out a dress." Herbert handed Anneliese the corset and a pair of stockings but Anneliese remained still as she watched him rummage through the armoire. When he turned around with a long pink dress layered in ribbons and lace she tossed the undergarments aside and headed straight for the door.
"I am not wearing that thing!"
"Why not?" Herbert asked defensively as if she had offended him. "The color will compliment your eyes." Anneliese stopped at the door and looked at Herbert.
"It's hideous," she said bluntly. Herbert's jaw dropped; he looked down at the gown he was now cradling in his arms and caressed one of the shiny ribbons.
"It most certainly is not."
"Then you wear it." Herbert gave Anneliese a sly smile. She noticed this time his fangs were gone and it gave her a little relief.
"You think I haven't tried already?" He held the gown against his body and looked down at himself. "It's nice but it doesn't fit me well at all. You will fill it out much more nicely than I can." Anneliese blushed.
"I am not wearing it," she told him again.
"You have no choice. Father will not allow you to sit at his table-especially not in his presence-in the state you are in now." Herbert held the gown out to Anneliese but she folded her arms across her chest to show him she had no intentions on taking it from him.
"I hate pink, I hate ribbons, I hate lace, and I hate wearing such girlish dresses. I am not wearing it!" Anneliese turned and walked out of the room. As she walked down the hall she heard Herbert call out after her.
"You're only going to make him angry again!"
-.-.-.-.-
Anneliese reached the large staircase when she realized she had no idea where she was headed. When she had left the room she had had no intentions of joining Von Krolock for whatever it would be that he considered dinner but now she could smell something and it smelled very good. The delicious smell grew stronger as she made her way down the stairs but before she reached the bottom the room suddenly seemed to spin around her and her legs grew weak causing her to sit down on the stair. She folded her arms over her knees and rested her head on her arms.
I can't do this, she thought. She took a deep breath that shook as she tried to suppress her tears. I can't face him again. She considered skipping dinner altogether but her hunger pains increased with the smell of the food drifting through the castle.
"Dinner." Anneliese was poked roughly on the shoulder and she looked up to see Koukol standing in front of her. "Dinner." he repeated. Anneliese pulled herself up, using the bannister for support and followed Koukol down the rest of the stairs. As the crossed the foyer she stopped when she saw the front door.
"Koukol?" Koukol growled and turned to look at Anneliese. "Unlock the door for me, Koukol. Please?"
"Dinner. Master. He is waiting."
"Koukol, please!" Anneliese didn't dare raise her voice above a whisper. "Unlock the door for me. I promise I won't say a word to anyone where I have been. No one will come up h-"
"Anneliese!" Anneliese jumped at the sound of Von Krolock's voice coming from the next room. "It would be wise of you to do as Koukol says. Your dinner is getting cold and my patience for you is wearing thin!" Anneliese spotted a large candlestick on a nearby table. Her first thought was to grab it and break one of the windows to escape but she quickly pushed the thought aside. If he can simply appear out of nowhere, he will catch me before I even make it into the forest, she told herself. Of course that is assuming he isn't reading my mind right now. If he is I won't even reach the window before he catches me, let alone actually make it outside. She had already been put through so much; she didn't think she could handle anymore. All she wanted to do was eat and the food in the next room smelled so good she could almost taste it. With a heavy sigh she followed Koukol into the dining room.
The first thing Anneliese saw when she entered was the array of food placed on the long table that filled the middle of the room. There was enough food to feed as many guests that could be seated at the table, yet the only place set was her own and the only other person in the room was Von Krolock. She followed Koukol to her seat which was to the right of where Von Krolock sat at the head of the table. She moved to sit but froze when Von Krolock spoke.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"I am joining you for dinner. Just as you requested." They stared at each other for a moment before Von Krolock raised an eyebrow as if expecting something from her. "Just as you requested... Your Excellency," she sighed.
"You will do no such thing dressed like that. I told Her-"
"I have no desire to wear such a frilly disaster of a dress!" Von Krolock glared at Anneliese and she suddenly wished she had just kept her mouth shut.
"Considering what happened earlier, your audacity surprises me." The vampire's tone was unsettlingly calm. "You will return to your room and dress yourself properly. Then-and only then-you may return." Without considering the potential repercussions of her action, Anneliese sat down and picked up a spoon but before she could dip the spoon into her soup, Von Krolock placed his hand over the bowl. "Upstairs," he growled. "Now."
"No," Anneliese said, looking directly into the Count's eyes. "I will not."
"Yes you will." The first time Von Krolock had spoken Anneliese had noticed that his fangs weren't out but now they had come out full with his anger.
"No, I will n-" Von Krolock stood so quickly from his chair that it fell back onto the floor with a loud bang.
"You will do as I say, or you will not eat!" Picking up the bowl, he threw it across the room and it hit a wall, shattering into pieces. Anneliese jumped up and ran out of the room; she had told herself on the way down that she wouldn't show him any fear but now she was too scared to care. She hadn't thought it was possible but he seemed more angry with her now than he had been earlier that evening and she realized that she had to be more careful. They had come to an agreement but she had no reason to believe the Count was a man of his word. If she pushed him too far... she didn't even want to think of what he would do to her. She ran back the way she had come, up the stairs and down the hallway then into her room where she stopped short.
"I knew you would be back." Herbert rose from the bed and held up a new dress. "I thought if you hate pink so much, maybe you would prefer a blue one." Anneliese opened her mouth to protest but her hunger was so strong now that she no longer had the strength to fight.
"Thank you." Her voice was just barely above a whisper. She closed the door and allowed Herbert to help her change, neither one saying a word to the other during the entire process. When she was dressed he opened the armoire to reveal a mirror on the back of one of the doors. Looking into the mirror, Anneliese barely even noticed the dress as she was focused on all her injuries. She had a cut at the corner of her mouth from where Von Krolock had first hit her and a dark bruise on her jaw. Her neck was lightly bruised and her hands and arms were cut up and still covered in dried blood. Why won't they give me some water to clean up? She almost laughed out loud at her own question; she was pretty sure she knew the answer.
"There. That isn't so bad now is it?" Herbert's voice came from directly behind her and Anneliese shuddered when she realized she couldn't see him in the mirror. She tried to respond but all she could do was shake her head. "Here." When she heard Herbert speak again she pulled her eyes away from the mirror to find he was offering her his handkerchief. She looked up at him questioningly. "You're crying." She touched her face with the back of her hand and realizing he was right, she took the handkerchief and quickly dried her eyes. His voice had still been cold but the simple action of offering her his handkerchief was the first bit of kindness anyone had shown her since she arrived. He would never become her friend, but she knew he was very different from his father and that alone comforted her.