Chapter 7: Snuggling

Alfred-

He woke with difficulty, again. The pain in his head was still there, but not nearly as horrible as it had been before. Most of his aches seemed to be lessening, but for his arm. That was still as painful as ever. Slowly, he woke and found himself in the same room as before, but he was alone in the bed. Herbert slept in a chair next to the bed. He looked surprisingly human with his long legs stretched out in front of him. One hand rested on the arm of the chair while the other rested on his lap. His head was lolled forward.

Certainly didn't look like a monster like that.

He was also, still dressed in nothing but for his cloak wrapped around his waist.

Alfred sat up as quietly as he could, holding his hurt arm against his chest, and sat there for a time, just looking at Herbert. The strange thought wandered across Alfred's mind on whether or not Herbert would let Alfred braid his hair. It was long enough, but Herbert wasn't a girl. He had a strong, firm jaw and a long, Roman nose. His hands were large. So he wouldn't want his hair braided and Alfred wouldn't know how to braid it anyway. If he tried, it would probably turn out badly then Herbert would laugh at him.

After getting out of the bed, Alfred cautiously crept across the room until he was directly in front of Herbert. Once there and fairly sure that Herbert wasn't going to wake, Alfred crouched down in front of Herbert and looked up at him. It was funny to be able to admire without any fear of discovery. Professor Abronsius wouldn't suddenly walk in. Count Von Krolock and Sarah and every other person in the castle were surely sleeping as soundly as Herbert was. So Alfred sat on the floor and looked up at Herbert. He was beautiful. Alfred felt sure that no matter where Herbert went he must have always been the center of attention. His wondered how that Rene could have discarded someone like Herbert.

As a vampire, Herbert scared Alfred to pieces, but what had he been like as a human? Had he been so confidant as he was now? Had he tried to hide his preferences before he'd had the protection of Count Von Krolock? Had he been shy or serious? Had he teased the maids? Played pranks?

Alfred narrowed his eyes, studying the shape of Herbert's mouth.

"I bet you played pranks on everyone."

Herbert didn't wake at the sound of Alfred's voice. He also didn't seem to be breathing and Alfred worriedly put his thumbnail to his mouth to chew on. Herbert really did look dead. His pallor and unnerving stillness took all illusion of life from him.

Hesitantly, Alfred reached out and put his fingers on Herbert's wrist. There was nothing. Did vampires have beating hearts? Were they supposed to breathe? He almost pulled his hand away from Herbert's wrist when he felt a distinct thump against his fingertips. There was nothing else for several minutes and then he felt another thump. So vampires did have a heartbeat, just not the same as a human's.

Professor Abronsius would have liked to know, but he never would. Even if Alfred left Count Von Krolock's castle, he wasn't sure he'd ever see Professor Abronsius, again.

Alfred bit his lip hard enough to taste blood. Professor Abronsius had been wrong before. He had said vampires were nothing but evil demons, but evil demons surely wouldn't feel so much pain and regret as Count Von Krolock had when he'd been in the castle's crypt reminiscing about lost loves. And would an evil demon be worried because he thought Alfred was sick, like Herbert had been? Would an evil demon have hugged him so warmly because she was relieved he hadn't died like Sarah had? If the professor was wrong about that, then he might have made other mistakes.

Professor Abronsius had wanted Alfred to let himself get turned into a vampire and, as he'd had said before, vampires were evil. So… he wanted Alfred to be evil? Professor Abronsius had been happy to let Sarah get turned into one just so he could see how it was done. If he wanted to make more evil, didn't that make him evil or did it just mean that evil didn't matter as much as he'd always said it did? Or did it simply mean that he was lying about the whole thing?

Alfred sat at Herbert's feet, pondering, trying to work his way through the confusing mess in his head. He had never had any reason to doubt the professor before, but sitting there with nothing to do for the first time in a very long while, he had time to think.

A thought crept into Alfred's mind, so suddenly that it took him by surprise. What if the professor was also wrong about it being evil to kiss other men?

Alfred looked up at Herbert, still sleeping so deeply. He could feel his heart pounding. The professor might have been wrong or maybe he'd even outright lied. He'd lied about coming to the castle to save Sarah; he'd obviously had no intention of saving her. What if kissing men wasn't so horribly evil? He'd told Alfred that the church said it was wrong, but the professor had never actually let Alfred attend a church service and before, in the poorhouse, he couldn't remember the vicar ever saying anything one way or the other about men kissing men.

Alfred felt lightheaded. He kept chewing nervously on his thumbnail.

Herbert's lips weren't as pale as the rest of his skin. He was very muscular, like one of those old statues of Greek heroes in museums.

Alfred pulled his thumb away from his mouth and used his good hand to push himself up onto his knees in front of Herbert. He leaned forward a bit and, gathering up all his courage for the effort, put a hand on Herbert's exposed knee.

There was no reaction. Herbert stayed asleep. Alfred had half-expected Herbert to spring awake and pounce on him… or just laugh at him for the audacity of a person like Alfred even thinking to touch someone like Herbert.

The skin under Alfred's hand was cool to the touch. Herbert's legs and chest were hairier than Alfred had expected and he wondered if other parts of Herbert were covered in hair, too.

If Professor Abronsius was wrong and kissing a man wasn't going to forever damn him…

Herbert was so very striking.

Alfred raised his hand, brought his fingers up close to Herbert's face. He had a powerful urge to touch Herbert's lips. He hovered the tips of his fingers over Herbert's face.

But if Professor Abronsius was had been telling the truth…

Alfred pulled his hand away from Herbert and inched away until he'd put his back against the wall opposite of Herbert. He looked at his hand and then at Herbert. It was so tempting.

Alfred got to his feet. He needed to get away from Herbert for just a minute.

He didn't know whether it was day or night, but he didn't dare open the window to find out for fear that it might be day time and that he might let the light in. He wasn't sure if that part of the vampire legend was true or not, but decided it would be best not to take chances with Herbert in the room.

The room was cold and Alfred wondered if vampires could feel the cold. If they weren't really monsters, then it was possible that they might feel cold. Alfred pulled one of the blankets from the bed and draped it over Herbert, covering him from shoulders to toes. Then, Alfred took another blanket from the bed and wrapped it around himself then left the room.

He'd only gone a few steps away from the door before Koukol rounded a corner and spotted him. With that heavy, painful-looking limp of his, he came up to Alfred and looked him up and down. He said something.

"I'm sorry." Alfred shook his head, apologetically. "I don't understand. Please, will you try, again?"

Koukol's mouth was malformed. It looked hard for him to get the words out, but he clearly knew what he wanted to say. "Back to bed," he forced the words out. "Rest."

"I'm much better now, thank you," Alfred assured him. "I just wanted to think for a bit and I think better if I'm doing something." He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to do."

Koukol shook his head. "Hurt."

"No, I'm really much better." Alfred choked back a cry when Koukol reached out and touched his right arm. "Well, maybe that arm's a bit sore…"

"Broken."

"No. I'm sure it's not that bad. It's just bruised. It'll be better soon."

"Broken. Bed." Koukol didn't wait for any argument. He reached up with one hand and grabbed Alfred by the scruff of the neck and hauled him back into the room where Herbert still slept. He walked Alfred over to the bed and waited there until Alfred climbed back in and pulled the blankets over himself as best as he could. When he had trouble straightening the blankets out due to his hurt arm, Koukol did the job himself.

"Really," Alfred protested while he watched Koukol moved around the room to tend the fire and make sure the curtains were securely over the window for Herbert's sake. "I'm not tired. I need something to do."

Koukol looked at him with a look that might have been exasperated, if Alfred was reading him, properly. "Sleep now, work later."

Alfred slouched and sighed. "Yes, sir."

Koukol started so badly that he froze for a moment and stared at Alfred. Then he left the room. A moment later he returned with a book in his hands. He gave the book to Alfred then set an inkwell and a quill on the little side-table near Alfred. "Draw."

Alfred opened the book and found that it was made of blank pages. He looked up at Koukol. "I'm not an artist. I can't draw."

"Draw." Koukol insisted.

"Yes, sir." Again, it seemed to take Koukol by surprised, but he didn't correct Alfred and left the room. Alfred could write, though he didn't have a very steady hand and badly misspelled many words. He could read if the words weren't too hard. Drawing was something he had never attempted. While he had admired some of the drawings he'd seen in the books Professor Abronsius had in his house, the idea of producing anything like the delicate pictures of rare birds and fascinating insects seemed quite impossible. Still, it was an order and Alfred felt something in him settle once he had been set a task.

What to draw? He thought of Professor Abronsius' scientific texts with drawings of rare things.

Alfred looked around the room. Stone walls, a fire, the bed he was confined to, a couple of chairs and… Herbert.

And Herbert was surely a very rare creature!

Herbert-

Herbert woke to singing. The voice was not one he'd heard before. It was very soft and gentle. He cracked an eye open and saw that it was Alfred. Somehow, such a lovely voice came from shy Alfred. Herbert doubted Alfred would sing if he knew someone else was in the room with him. Alfred sat in the bed, the blankets up to his waist and a book on his lap. As Herbert watched, Alfred dipped his quill in the little ceramic ink well, and then brought it back to his paper. He glanced at Herbert and Herbert closed his eye to avoid being caught. He could hear the light scratching of the quill against paper. A moment later, he opened his eye, again.

Alfred was absorbed in what he was drawing. He kept singing and Herbert thought he might be able to listen to that voice forever. He waited and watched as the singing faded away to nothing and, little-by-little, Alfred's head began to nod. Minutes later he was sound asleep.

Herbert opened both eyes. He wanted to just sit there and admire Alfred, to enjoy the feeling of 'not hungry' for the first time in so long that the sensation was entirely unfamiliar and to plot how he could convince Alfred that life under the protection of Count Von Krolock was the best possible life for him.

He stepped to the edge of the bed and looked down at what Alfred had been working on. He was utterly charmed by what he saw.

"Oh, Alfred, you darling thing."

It was a portrait of Herbert asleep in the chair. Clumsy and untrained with ink smeared here and there from where Alfred hadn't been watching his hands near the wet ink. The hands of the drawing were rather bad and Herbert knew his head wasn't that big, but he still liked it. Just looking at the drawing and knowing that Alfred had put an effort into it made him feel warm all over. He was certain Alfred loved him, even if he was too afraid to admit it.

So pleased with his discovery, Herbert turned the page in the book to see what else Alfred had been amusing himself with. The image he found made him freeze with horror.

It was another drawing of Herbert. A drawing of Herbert with his mouth wide and fangs extended. His face was twisted and horrible, his eyes wide with madness.

So… that was how Alfred saw him - a monster.

There was no denying that Alfred feared him. There could be no dismissing it at shyness or inexperience, he was terrified. And he had good reason. Herbert realized that he must have looked like that when he'd gotten so impatient in his bedroom, when he'd dragged Alfred to the floor.

Herbert flipped the page back to the image of him peacefully sleeping in the chair. Alfred had drawn him with a tiny smile on his face. It was such a tender image, so vastly different than the monster Herbert trying to lunge out of the paper.

Back-and-forth Herbert flipped the page, flipped between peace and fury, between man and monster. He hadn't wanted to scare Alfred. He didn't want to scare anyone.

Koukol walked in with an armful of clean, dried clothing.

Herbert showed him the drawing of 'monster-Herbert'. "Am I so terrible? Do I really look like this?"

With a roll of his eyes, Koukol set his armful of clothes on the chair Herbert had been sitting on, took the book from Hebert and, with his free hand, gave Herbert a cuff on the side of the head.

"Hey!"

Koukol ignored Herbert's indignant squawk. He turned the page to the picture of Herbert sleeping and tapped it with his forefinger before shoving the book back into Herbert's hands.

"But he saw me like this." Herbert turned back to the 'monster-Herbert' picture.

Koukol let out a long-suffering sigh. "Young."

"Well, yes, Alfred is young, but I don't see what - "

"No," Koukol interrupted and tapped Herbert on the chest. "You. Young." He gestured at the book. "Mistake." And he waved his hand to indicate that it didn't really matter.

A drop of hope. "So, you think it was just a… a bad first impression? That could be it. If he sees me like this, now," Herbert looked down at his sleeping image. "Then there might be hope." He smiled down at Alfred, still sleeping soundly. "I'll make you forget the monster if it's the last thing I ever do!"

Alfred-

The next time Alfred woke, his face was pressed into something firm. It was vaguely alarming, but he was drifting in that calm place between waking and sleeping so, for a time, he stayed as he was and enjoyed being warm and comfortable. He could hear soft talking around him and the crackle of fire. He snuggled into whatever he was laying against then opened his eyes. He saw black and realized, after a minute, that it was black cloth. Some kind of clothing. Alfred blinked and realized that he was looking at someone's trousers. He'd been snuggling with someone's thigh!

He very awake after that realization and started to pull away when a hand touched his head. Alfred looked up to find that the thigh he'd been snuggling belonged to Count Von Krolock.

The count gave Alfred a brief, amused smile and kept petting him, running those worryingly long fingernails over Alfred's scalp. Alfred laid still and quiet and the count did nothing else. The room was peaceful and warm and he felt his race heart begin to slow.

After he was able to relax a bit, Alfred realized that his bed was quite overflowing. From where he lay, he could see Sarah sitting on the other side of the count with her back against the footboard, facing the count. Her feet were bare and she'd changed out of her red ball gown into a blue dress of a far more simple design. Her long hair was braided and hung over one shoulder and she held an embroidery hoop in one hand while she stitched with the other. She frowned while she worked.

"You don't look very happy over there," Herbert's voice came from beside Alfred, too close for him to be sitting in the chair next to the bed.

Alfred turned his head away from the count and saw that Herbert sat in much the same position as his father did, but on Alfred's other side. He sat, finally fully dressed, with his legs crossed and was carefully trimming his fingernails.

"I hate sewing." Sarah wrinkled her nose as she said it. "Needlepoint is like sewing except that it's useless. There's no practical reason for it. It's just decoration."

"Seems sort of silly that you just spent the last hour sitting there working on it, then."

"It's a gift for mother. She's going to be so cross with me for running off without a word to anyone. I thought a gift might help relieve her temper a little."

"Your mother will forgive you, my dear," Count Von Krolock spoke up. "She may have a temper, but she loves you. The gift is a fine idea."

It was such a domestic moment that it was rather surreal. A vampire family just enjoying each other's company… and Alfred in the middle.

"Well," Herbert said. "I think you would like riding more than embroidery. I can teach you to ride sometime, if you like. We'll have to get you a nice riding outfit, but that shouldn't take much time at all and… Alfred!" Herbert grinned down at Alfred. "You're awake! Oh, and you look so much better." He leaned down and smacked a quick peck of a kiss on Alfred's cheek before he sat up, again. It was so fast Alfred hadn't even had time to think about dodging out of the way.

It was Alfred's first kiss. That little spot where Herbert's lips had touched him felt remarkably warm. Alfred thought of how he'd almost touched Herbert's lips earlier and blushed.

As everyone was watching him, Alfred sat up. He winced when his accidently jostled his hurt arm and Sarah leaned towards him, putting both of her hands on the count's legs to do it.

"Does it still hurt?" Sarah asked, remorsefully.

Herbert wrung his hands. "It does seem to be very swollen."

Sarah put a hand on the count's shoulder and suddenly smiled with confidence. "Mother can help him!"

Everyone turned to look at Sarah.

"She can," Sarah insisted. "Mother is the midwife in the village and she knows all about healing. She's taken care of broken bones, infections, fevers. She's very smart and if I ask..."

Herbert snorted. "You ask? You can't go!"

"Why not?"

"Because you could get hungry at any minute! Do you want to take the chance that you might try to rip her throat out like you did to Alfred?"

Sarah looked at Herbert, horrified, then she snapped at him, "You're horrible! Alfred was just… just an accident! Oh, Alfred!" She threw herself at him and hugged him. "I am sorry, really! If I was thinking straight I wouldn't have hurt you.

"It's alright."

"No, it's not!" Sarah sat back a little and then, to Alfred's shock, kissed him on the cheek, the opposite cheek Herbert had kissed. "Sweet Alfred, you're the kindest, most gentle person I've ever met. No one should ever hurt you."

As was to be expected, Alfred blushed and looked down at his lap. "Don't feel bad," he muttered. "I'm really alright. And I'll get better soon."

"Of course you will." Sarah hugged him, again, then stood up and put her fists on her hips as she looked at the count. "He'll get better when he sees my mother. She knows more about taking care of people than anyone else and whatever is wrong with Alfred's arm, she can fix it."

The count nodded and smiled fondly at Sarah. "Then we will let her try. Herbert, you will take Alfred to the village tonight. I will distract the guests with a hunt through the northern mountains. Ask Madam Chagal to care for him. She won't refuse, but be polite. And you will stay with him until I send for you."

"How long might that be?" Herbert asked, suspiciously.

"Until the guests are gone. I expect them to be gone by tomorrow night."

Herbert's eyes narrowed and he looked, for just a moment, like he might argue with his father. But he bowed his head. "Yes, father."

Alfred asked, "Will you ask Sarah's father wants to give a message to his wife?"

Everyone looked at him, puzzled.

Sarah said, "Father's in the village with mother."

"No. He's the one who…" Alfred's voice trailed off and he looked up at Count Von Krolock. "Why didn't you tell her?"

Count Von Krolock frowned at Alfred. "Tell her what?"

"That her father was bitten."

The count blinked. "What?"

"Chagal led us up here because the professor was going to stake him if he didn't. He was a vampire. I think he bit Miss Magda, too."

"Our bar maid?" Sarah looked back and forth between Alfred and the count and finally settled on the count. "Did you bite my father?"

"No. As I said, I'd never met him."

She looked at Herbert. "You?"

"Oh, don't look at me like that. Your father isn't my type, sweetie."

"But, who bit him, then? One of the guests?"

Herbert swallowed hard and looked at Alfred rather than at his father. "That," Herbert said, quietly. "Would be an extremely… rude thing to do. One does not hunt in another's territory without permission and one certainly doesn't bring others across without the permission of the master of the territory. It's bad manners."

"It's also been the cause of more than one war." Count Von Krolock scowled terribly at Alfred. "Are you absolutely certain that Sarah's father was a vampire?"

Alfred cringed against the bed's headboard. "Ah… yes? Yes, I'm sure. I wouldn't lie about it, sir. Professor Abronsius thought you'd done it."

"No. It wasn't me. And with all the guests we've had these last couple of weeks it will be difficult to track down the insulting dog who dared such a thing on my land." He pressed his lips together into a thin line as he got off the bed. He folded his hands behind his back as he began to pace the room.

Alfred brought his knees up to his chest and curled into a little ball, with the blanket drawn right up to his chin as he stared determinedly at his knees.

Sarah watched the count and, as she'd never seen him angry, she bit her bottom lip, nervously.

Herbert sighed and leaned over Alfred to poke Sarah in the ribs. She let out a squeak and turned her attention from the brooding Count Von Krolock to Herbert. Herbert stuck his tongue out at her. "Don't frown so – father isn't angry at you. He's just got a creepy face." Of course Herbert was suddenly the center of attention, which always seemed to please him. He looked at his father with mock surprise. "Why father, were you listening? Sorry, I thought you were busy scaring the children."

The comment caused the count to look at Sarah and Alfred. He hung his head. "Forgive me. This is nothing you two need to worry about."

"But we do." Sarah sat up on the bed on her knees. "He's my father! I need to know what's going on if he's involved in all this! And if there's someone who's trying to make you angry, they might be dangerous. Some of us might be in danger." She glanced at Alfred, then back at the count. "And if there are rules, I should know them, shouldn't I?"

"I hadn't meant to teach you of such things until you were a bit older."

"Father," Herbert said. "I think she may be right. Someone isn't playing by the rules." He looked at Alfred and Sarah. "They need to know what we face."

The count mulled over the idea, but finally nodded. "Very well. Sarah, you are my child by blood and all of our community who know this will know that we are connected – that you are family to me and, much as I wish it weren't so, that makes you a potential target should someone take aim against me. Alfred, even though you are not one of us by blood, you are now living under my protection and that involves you.

There are few rules regarding our people, but one of them is about territory. I am master of this territory, which includes the village below and the mountains around us. Someone has turned one, possibly two people in my territory. I have to find them and ensure that they're being cared for properly or they may be just running around killing people at random. Then I will have to find the offender and extract vengeance. This whole matter is an open slap to the face and I cannot let it stand. I will speak to Koukol and see if he's seen anyone in the castle who shouldn't be here. It's possible that he, too, thought I'd brought them across."

"There's something else to keep in mind," Herbert added. "Charlotte has some plot in mind. I told father earlier, but you two must stay away from her."

"Done," Alfred readily agreed.

Sarah blinked curiously at Herbert. "Who's Charlotte?"

Alfred clutched at the blankets on his lap. He didn't even like thinking about her. "She's… very bad."

"She's an acquaintance of father's," Herbert elaborated. "But she's hardly his match. If this was her doing, I can't think what she plans, because she can't win a challenge against him – she's no older than I am, after all. She was the one you saw me fighting with at the ball, Sarah dear. A vile, deceitful creature." Herbert sniffed, disdainfully. "And she had a terrible sense of fashion."

"For all that, she is still a guest in my home," Count Von Krolock said. "I don't know what she has planned and I don't know that she turned your father, Sarah. But she did make some comment to Herbert that he would be better off in Paris than here."

"Is that bad? I should think you would like the city," Sarah commented to Herbert. "You seem the type to like bright lights and excitement, and I have heard that big cities like Paris are all busy and bubbling with life."

"I have always liked Paris as well as Brussels, Venice, and New York as well as any number of other big cities. But this is my home. The fact that she would suggest that I leave is simply odd. She just dropped it onto the end of an encounter, like a stray thought. I don't like it," Herbert looked at his father. "And I don't trust her."

Count Von Krolock gave Herbert an approving smile. "Good." He clasped his hands in front of him as he thought for a moment, and then said, "Now, Alfred can't go to the village dressed in a nightshirt. Herbert, search though your things for something he may borrow."

"I already gave him everything that might fit and Koukol said those things are still drying after being washed. Everything else is much too big."

Sarah eagerly said, "I might not like it, but I can sew, if I have to. If I may borrow a needle and thread, I can try to fix what we find and if it's not perfect, mother won't mind."

"Alfred has a sewing kit in his bags," Herbert told them.

"Great! It probably won't matter, because as soon as you get him to mother, she'll just put him back to bed."

Alfred groaned. "But I've been sleeping for days and days!"

"Oh, you're exaggerating. It won't hurt you to get more rest." Sarah shook her finger at Alfred as she said it. Herbert closed the door behind them when they left.

It left Alfred alone in the room with Count Von Krolock and Alfred was suddenly felt very self-conscious and awkward. He felt it was a perfectly reasonable way to feel considering that the count had been planning to feed him to his guests just a few hours ago.

"You seem uneasy, Alfred."

"No, sir. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

The count sighed. "Alfred, this is something we need to talk about."

Alfred's heart jumped. What had he done wrong? How angry was the count?

Count Von Krolock turned to regard him, seriously. "I said before that I was pleased with your good manners and I am, but having good manners doesn't mean you sacrifice your well-being or that you must be silent about things that make you unhappy. You are allowed to speak your mind. If you are to stay here, then you will be a member of my household. You can't be always afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. I won't have you hiding in corners from me."

Alfred floundered. He was dependent on Count Von Krolock's goodwill, just as he had been with Professor Abronsius. Alfred wanted so badly to please the count. Herbert thought the world of his father, but Alfred knew if he wanted any happiness at all, he would have to try his hardest to please the count in all things and not make mistakes and not say stupid things. The count clearly wasn't a man to tolerate fools. So, if the count wanted Alfred to say what was making him nervous, then Alfred would have to do just that.

"Please, sir, were you really going to let them kill me?" Alfred choked a bit on the words.

"No," Count Von Krolock answered, easily. "In truth, I had promised a feast to my guests and you and Professor Abronsius were convenient. Even if I hadn't had guests, you both seemed to know so much, I couldn't have just let you leave. You had to die or be brought across. It seemed sensible to allow my guests to feed and then bring you across. Don't look so horrified. You wouldn't have felt any pain. I would have made certain you slept through the worst of it and I would have supervised it all to ensure you didn't die by accident."

"So, the only reason you didn't let me die is because I'm useful to you? Because of my blood?"

"Yes. Had things been different, I would have happily brought you into my family. You are such a sweet boy and Herbert would like to have a little brother."

Alfred muttered. "I don't think he wants me as a brother."

Count Von Krolock laughed. "Vampire families are a little different. If I had made you a vampire, you would be my child as are Herbert and Sarah, but the three of you aren't siblings in the way that humans view it. You are only siblings in that you are connected to one another through me."

"I thought Sarah was going to be your wife."

"Wife?" The count laughed. "No. She isn't in love with me."

"But… she ran away to be with you."

"She ran away to accept what I could offer her. Sarah is in love with life, ironically. She wants adventure and excitement and I was able to give her the power to do that. As soon as the effect of your blood wears off, she will turn ravenous and will have to be trained how to control the hunger. When she has gained that control, I fully expect that she will start asking permission to leave so she can see the world."

"How long do you think it will be until Sarah gets hungry?"

"Very soon." Count Von Krolock gave Alfred a very serious look. "I can already feel the hunger starting to claw at me."

Count Von Krolock opened his mouth to reply when the door flew open and Herbert stepped in. He had Sarah by the hair and held her there like she was a dog on a leash. He wore a decidedly unhappy expression on his face. "She's a little hungry, father."

Sarah's face was as twisted and terrible as it had been in the sleigh when she'd first attacked Alfred. Her fangs were extended and visible in her gaping mouth as she hissed and clawed at Herbert's hand holding her. Her eyes were wide and wide enough to show the whites all around her iris'. She looked like an animal, fighting to get away from Herbert. Her eyes fell on Alfred and she started to fight all the more, but despite her terrible ferocity, Herbert had no trouble holding her in place. He held her at arm's length, but wasn't at all rough with her.

Count Von Krolock wordlessly went to them. He took hold of Sarah's head and held her face with both of his hands. Their eyes met and, like a rock, she dropped, fainting dead away. Count Von Krolock caught her and lifted her as if she were no heavier than a pillow as soon as Herbert released her hair. He left the room with Sarah sparing not a single glance behind him.

"Will she be alright?" Alfred asked Herbert.

"Oh, certainly. Father's done this many times. But for now, you and I have our marching orders. Time for you to get dressed and then off we go to the village. Don't worry; I'll help you dress. I wouldn't want you to stress that arm, after all."

To be continued…