4-Explicaţii
"Miss? Miss?"
A soft and gentle voice spoke, it came from behind the sleeping woman and pulled her from her dreams of flying creatures and a dusty old castle. Kya tried to wave off the voice wanting to rest more, when she realized that she had fallen asleep in the library she sat up with a start, and looked around seeing the walls lined with books and the once burning fireplace now extinguished. Kya turned and saw an older woman standing there in a white top and long brown skirt. Her brown hair laced with gray showing that the woman was slightly older. She looked down upon the girl with a confused and also very serious expression.
"Master Velkan and Mistress Anna have requested to speak with you, over the morning meal." She said before turning and leaving the room holding a bucket that was filled with ashes from what KYa could only assume was the fireplace, however the woman's statement confused her.
"I thought that they did not eat breakfast miss. That is what Miss Anna had told me last night." Kya stood up and noted how sore her body felt after such a long ride on her horse as well as sleeping in an odd position during the night.
The older woman stopped in the door way before turning back to Kya and smiled very kindly bringing life into the woman's worn and stern features. "She does not eat morning meals however the Mistress asked us to prepare something for everyone so that they may speak to you in a more... relaxed, i believe the word is, atmosphere."
The younger of the two women stared in shock as the eldest left the room to go about her daily chores. Why would Anna ask to have a morning meal when she clearly said that she does not eat anything in the mornings? Was it truly a sign of good faith, or perhaps it was just a way for them to break the ice and tell her that she was going to be their newest servant to the household. The latter of the two options was the least appealing to Kya, but then again, it would not be the first time tat it happened to the young woman. With a sigh she took up her little black book and skimmed through what she had written the night before. Though she has fallen asleep midway through her writings she could see that it was the beginnings of a story, the first scene of which was written across three separate pages. Seeing this brought a smile to Kya's face as she walked down the halls towards where she would assume a castles dining room would be, however the smell of freshly baked bread caught her and pulled her towards it. By following this she found herself in the kitchen silently watching as a staff of over thirty worked with ease finishing the morning meal. Taking the bread out of the large brick oven, freshly picked fruit being placed on a tart shell with honey placed on top, as well as any number of extravagant dishes were being prepared.
One of the younger female servants paused while picking up a basket of bread and saw Kya standing int he doorway of the kitchen and smiled kindly to the woman before bowing her head.
"Did you need help finding the dining area mi lady?"
Kya looked at the girl then nodded her head, she didn't want to admit it but she had gotten herself confused while following the smell of freshly baked bread. She followed the young woman down the hallway she was just in and was escorted towards a magnificent dining room. There were windows as tall as the room allowing the natural sunlight to stream into the room and shine upon the wooden table. At the end closest to the servant doors there were three chairs set up in front of a grand breakfast. Upon the table lay the same dishes that Kya watched being prepared in the kitchen, plus many more including a fresh pot of tea, and some sort of drink that Kya was unfamiliar with. The young servant placed the basket of bread upon the table and bowed to Kya before taking her leave. Just as she had left the room the doors on the opposite side of the room opened allowing Anna into the room now dressed in light brown slacks, knee high leather boots, a creme colored blouse with a light brown leather corset covering her middle.
Behind her was whom Kya could only assume to be her brother, Velkan. He stood three feet taller than Kya and appeared to be the royal that Kya assumed them both to be. With light brown hair that came to his shoulders, his features were very pristine and sharp making his noble status clear by just his looks. He wears knee high riding boots over his black trousers, a cream colored peasant shirt that is similar to his sisters and a black vest buttoned up. Though his features showed his aristocratic heritage his body was well formed from hours of training, similar to Anna's and he could possibly harm someone with his thumb. Clearly Kya's simple outfit of her blue peasant top and black trousers seemed to be under dressing for the occasion as both Anna and Velkan came into the room, the latter of the two adjusting his belt that had a long saber attached to it. An interesting accessory to add to an every day wear, however Kya did not question it as she stood straighter in the prescience of her supposed family.
Anna and Velkan both stopped two feet away from their cousin and took a moment to collect their thoughts. Anna was the first to speak.
"I hope you like what we had made for you Kya. It is all farmed here from the village and our own gardens." She then turned to the man standing beside her and smiles lovingly to him. "This is my brother Velkan."
He stands straight up before giving a stiff bow and holding his hand out to Kya. She hesitantly placed her hand in his and he gave a very proper shake as he stood back up.
"It is very nice to meet you Miss Kya. Please, sit, let us speak during our meal yes?" His accent is much thicker than Anna's, where as he was much more proper and relaxed Anna was very cold and calculating as she spoke and skipped right to the point.
Kys remained silent and simply nodded before sitting down at her place at the table while Anna and Velkan took theirs across from her. As their breakfast was being served to them Kya very carefully looked at the windows behind Anna and Velkan and saw that there was another castle further into the forest on the top of a hill. How odd, perhaps they weren't the only royals here?
"So, Kya... how did you get here?"
Kya looked away from the window to where she needed to shift her attention. It seemed as if Anna had asked her the question. The young woman cleared her throat before speaking.
"I came by sea and by train. Across the Adriatic Sea i believe it was." Kya blushed slightly before looking at her plate that was set before her and felt a bit odd.
She had never in her life been served by someone else before, she was always the one to serve others. Never the other way around. As she looked up from her plate she saw Anna's stern face brighten, something that she said must have made the woman very happy.
"Ive never been to the sea, is it beautiful?" Anna asked as she set her cup of tea down.
Kya nodded and blushed slightly not enjoying having the conversation be pointed towards her. "It was. The waters are very blue this time of year."
Anna nodded before her brother cleared his throat and sat up in his seat. "Miss Kya, though we are curious to how your travels were, we did not call you here just to exchange pleasantries. We asked you to come here to help us."
Kya frowned and paused as she was pulling her cup of tea towards her. "My help, what ever for sir?"
"Our family has been plagued by a curse for centuries. Our ancestor vowed to kill Count Dracula, however... our family will never see the gates of heaven if we do not kill him before our entire family dies." Anna responded being very cold and matter of fact with her explanation.
Velkan nodded in agreement. "That is why we have called upon you to come here. In the family tree you are the only person who has not been effected by this curse. After Anna and I... YOU are the last descendant with Valerious blood. You can help us break the curse."
Kya took a moment to contemplate what they were saying, each of them with a straight face and seeming very adamant that she was their only hope to lengthen their families bloodline. "And just who is this Count Dracula?"
"He is a vampire who had plagued our lands for centuries... he seems almost desperate to finish off our family line." Velkan replied with a somber look in his eye. "Our father recently whent missing while searching for him."
Kya couldn't believe what she was being told. The two grown people before her believed in these silly stories, and adopted them into their family legacy? Before she could stop her self Kya burst out laughing. She covered her mouth in an attempt to muffle her laughter. "Please... forgive me but... i have never heard something so ridiculous before in my life."
Anna and Velkan both shared a confused look before turning it upon the hysterical woman before them. Why would she be laughing at something so dire?
"You summoned me here, away from my mistress and my duties because of an old ghost story?" She fanned her face as she slowly began to calm down. "Why would you two go to such great lengths to tell me a story that is not even real?"
Anna frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why is this funny? Our family has slowly been killed off by an unholy monster and his brides."
"Because those are just old ghost stories that aren't real. None of it is. I truly feel horrible that you've lost everyone in your family, with the most recent being your father however... i refuse to believe that these creatures are real."
Velkan glared at Kya and leaned forward in his seat. "They aren't stories, its true."
"Then show me evidence... can you show me definitive proof that vampires, and werewolves exist? If you do then id be happy to see it." Kya shot back as she finally calmed down and is now able to think clearly.
At her remark the two royals sitting before her turned to one another looking very uneasy and at a loss for words.
"You haven't any evidence do you?" Kya shook her head and sighed. "If you truly wish for my help then please tell me what i can do, however i will not sit here and be told these ridiculous stories with out there being any evidence behind them."
Velkan looked at Kya before sighing. "Then we will take you out with us so you may see what we do... and when you see that what we tell you is not a story then you will see that we do indeed need your help. However, until that time i believe that you could help us with the towns people."
At this admission from Velkan, Kya frowned a bit confused and worried. They truly believed that these creatures exist, that they were actively searching for their family members to kill in cold blood.
"Many of the people believe that the curse will be complete soon enough... and we need someone to help bring their spirits up." Anna looked into Kya's eyes being very sincere and direct. "Perhaps you could show them that we do not intend to stop until we've defeated him."
This caused Kya to relax very slightly as she began to consider what that meant. There were two options that came to her mind. First, she would need to be an ambassador of sorts for the people to allow them to express their grievances and worries to her and relay them to Anna and Velkan. Second, to work in the town and show that life can go on even with something as ridiculous as a vampire killing everyone.
"And what will i get out of this? For all i know we could only be cousins by marriage and not blood, that does not make me a royal and i will not take advantage of your wealth and hospitality. If all you wish for me is to keep the townspeople calm then i will do what i can, however... i do not want it to be a campaign to show me that these stories of Vampires are real. I will not hear it."
And with that Kya excused her self from the table and left the room without looking back. She would need some time to consider what was happening and perhaps even speak with them both at a later time. Once Kya reached her room she shut the door and fell upon her bed laying face down as she tried to wrap her brain around just what had happened. The two people that she was truly skeptical about meeting have just told her that they brought her here because in some way they are related and they want to keep their family lineage going as long as they possibly can. Not only that but they had tried to convince her that Vampires and Werewolves were real and plagued their land and the people. Had she gotten the wrong letter and it was meant to be sent to a different Kya Albarn? That's absurd, she is the only woman with that name not only that but the only female servant in their mistress' household. No one else could have gotten that letter but her... perhaps they truly were related. As Kya lay on her bed she contemplated what they had said to her before finally concluding that they must have been bored and sought entertainment and decided to spread around stories to make the towns people fearful of going out at night.
She sat up and looked out the window and saw that it was midday. She might as well try to make the most out of the rest of the day and decided to get cleaned up. After rummaging through her leather bag that had not moved from the bed she decided on wearing a long sleeved white blouse that buttoned all the way up to her neck, as well as a clean pair of black trousers and her boots. If Anna and Velkan truly wished to have her comfort the people then perhaps she may as well see just how far their people live. After splashing her face with water from the basin beside the bed, Kya got dressed and proceeded to walk around the castle back towards where the library was. Perhaps there was a map that she could use to find her way around, that was easy to read. As she walked she paused by the large painting of Transylvania showing the vast terrain of the country as well as how large it was. As Kya was able to get a better look at it she knoticed that along the left hand side there was some kind of Latin inscription leading all the way down, but there was a small portion of the painting missing. it appeared as though it finished the Latin that was written there.
Who would do such a thing to a magnificent portrait? Shaking her head, Kya whent back to her task and found the library this time when she entered there was already someone there. Anna sat at the table reading over something, upon hearing the door open she looked up and her once relaxed feature's hardened and she returned to her reading.
"What is it you want?" Her voice now cold and restrained. Clearly what Kya had said earlier had turned the woman's view of her into a negative one.
"I came to see if there was a map of the village here. If you wish for me to help wouldn't it be best for me to see how far your villagers live from the castle?"
Anna paused in her reading before closing her eyes and sitting back in her chair. "You are very precise..." Leaning forwards Anna picked up a small piece of parchment before handing it to Kya. "It is written in Romanian but the paths will lead you to the furthest home last recorded."
Kya carefully took the map from the woman and nodded her head. "Thank you." Before leaving Kya paused and turned back to the woman at the table. "I believe that we began this relationship on the wrong foot. Perhaps we could try to amend that some how?"
This tore Anna away from her reading to look upon the young woman before her. At only twenty three years of age she seemed to show the intelligence of someone much older than her. She knew that her family had tied to her but not only by marriage but blood as well. Perhaps she was right, they had shoved a bit too much on the young woman all at once. She had only just arrived in the country last evening. She would need time to adjust to their ways and see for her self just what lurked in the dark. Anna nodded before standing and going to Kya. Now as Kya stood with her cousin she truly saw that the woman before her was only slightly taller than she was and that she wasn't as tough as she seemed to be. Kya could see in her light hazel eyes that she was scared as well as concerned for her family.
"You are right. We should have told you this in a better way, and you do deserve to see evidence. We will show it to you when we have it Kya." Anna said with a smile trying to show that she had no ill intentions with the younger woman in front of her.
Kya smiled and held her hand out to her. "Then i will do what i can to calm the minds and hearts of your people."
The two shook hands before Kya took her leave and left for the stables to saddle her horse. While there she was warned by the stable hand to return before sundown as the vampires were known to take those who wandered away from the village. Kya simply nodded and thought nothing more of it. If she was going to try and calm these people then she would need to approach this upon neutral ground. As she pulled on a thick wool cloak she began to think of ways of how to tell her mistress in London that her trip away from the house hold will take longer than the two months that she had originally planned. Though she was sure that her mistress will not mind... her son would not be so forgiving.
YAY ONE BIG LONG CHAPTER! I had originally planned for this to be a really long chapter but i thought to split it into two. So here's the first and ill start working on the second soon. Hope you like it please review, constructive criticism is always helpful!