Well when I said it was going to be a long chapter, I didn't expect it to be this long! Well enjoy your extra extra long chapter.
Chapter 21
Robin opened the door to the castle and slipped through. What he expected to be the corridor turn out to be the cell in the dungeons that he vividly remembered the fire and Bryn lying unconscious with it blazing around her. Not wanting to remember any more, Robin quickly ran out of the door. He found himself exactly where he had started. Confused, Robin opened the door again and stepped through, believing the whole incident to be a trick of his mind.
This time he found himself on the staircase that led to the crypt. Again confused, Robin found the door and quickly leaped out. He ended up in the driveway facing the open air. Robin slowly turned back towards the door. He glared at it as he opened the door once again. He closed his eyes and stepped in.
Slowly opening his eyes in the hope of finding himself in the correct place, he took a look around him, he was in a corridor alright but it was no corridor that he had seen before.
'Must be somewhere in the dungeon' Robin thought. But he wasn't going to stay. He had kept hold of the door as he walked in so he could walk straight back out again if he wasn't in the right place. He shut the door behind him.
"This is getting ridiculous!" Robin shouted. He hadn't noticed that Bryn had been walking up the path, at this point, and was now pretty much behind him.
"What's ridiculous?" Bryn asked startling Robin.
"Er… well every time I walk through the door I end up in a different place! It's messing with me, Bryn." Bryn frowned trying to decipher Robin's whine into something that made sense.
"Robin, Robin calm down. Let's go in together." Bryn said.
"But it won't let me!" Robin moaned. Bryn opened the door, grabbed Robin and pushed him in ahead of her; she closed the door behind them.
"See, its dark like it usually is!" Bryn said, Robin sighed, it was just his luck that it would turn out to be in the right place AFTER he told someone, now Bryn wouldn't believe him.
"Now if we just find the door, we can…oh!" Bryn fumbled around in the place where the door should've been, she found nothing, not even a wall. Confused Bryn stepped backwards into Robin, he yelped and Bryn was quick to apologize.
As if answering both their mental question of 'where were they' the torches suddenly set themselves alight, showing Bryn and Robin the way down the long corridor.
"Ok Robin, I see what you mean!" Bryn said. Robin didn't take any notice to Bryn's comment, he was too intrigued by the torches and the long winding corridor.
"Cool!" he muttered as he started to walk slowly along the corridor.
"Robin, wait, don't run off." Bryn halted him. He waited until she was near enough next to him and then he began walking again.
Vlad checked his watch, they were running late. They had told him that they would be there promptly at 5 o'clock and it was now half past. Vlad was getting irritated and worried, he stood up and wondered down to the great hall, in hope that maybe he would meet them there.
The only person he found in the great hall was his father. He was seemingly annoyed about something as he was pacing around the room, holding a piece of paper. Vlad quietly entered the room and tried tiptoeing over to the door. The count, on one of his walks back towards the throne, spotted his son and paused, breaking his pace he moved towards Vlad.
"Arh Vlad, just the person I needed to see… your mother's organising a party for your sixteenth birthday, apparently she wants it to be held in the afternoon, before your transformation. It's going against all traditions and I for one don't agree." The count told him. The piece of paper was on the table; it was the letter that he had gotten from Magda, explaining her plans.
"That seems fine with me." Vlad said, in all fairness he didn't care what happened about the party, he was dreading when that day came. Vlad continued to walk off but then he stopped.
"Dad, have either: seen, heard or smelt Bryn or Robin?" Vlad asked. The count took a moment to use his senses.
"No, haven't seen them, or heard them, but they are in the castle." The count replied.
Vlad thanked him, although his politeness was unappreciated by his father and walked out the door. They were in the castle that was a good start, now just to work out where they would have gone.
Bryn and Robin had been walking along the corridor for some time now, not knowing whether or not it was leading them anywhere. Bryn had grown tired of the endless walk, and Robin's curiosity had begun to subside. There was nothing but walls and torches to keep him occupied and it was failing rapidly to keep his interest.
There was a squeak. Bryn stopped. Another squeak. Robin stopped. They both listened, another squeak, it was getting closer. It was coming around the corner, Bryn held her breath, Robin took one step forwards, trying to peep round the corner without going too far away from Bryn. He heard another squeak and stepped back.
Round the corner came Zoltan, Vlad's loveable, stuffed, pet hound. Bryn and Robin breathed a sigh of relief they didn't know what they were expecting it to be but they were utterly relieved that it was Zoltan.
"Master Robin, Miss Bryn what are you doing here?" Zoltan asked, looking at them in turn.
"Gonna ask you the same question mate! You scared us half to death!" Robin replied.
"Arh, apologies, my wheels do need oiling. The master was in a bad mood and so I was forced to remove myself from his sight, hence my wandering through the corridors!" Zoltan explained.
"Zoltan, could you take us somewhere that we are familiar with please!" Bryn asked Zoltan agreed saying that he needed to get back anyway.
"Maybe you could explain why you ended up here." Zoltan suggested leading the way.
Vlad started by looking in his room, it was possible, knowing Robin as well as he did, that they could have gone straight to his room instead of waiting in the great hall. They hadn't. his room was exactly how he had left it, a sprawled mess of stuff piled in the corner and his bed hadn't been made, it was basically a bombshell but it was his and his alone.
Now he was baffled where had they gone? Robin was one to wander the castle if he could find Vlad but Bryn was the one who would stop him and tell him to wait. So if they were both here then why didn't they wait?
Zoltan led them through a shortcut which ended up in the corridor outside the great hall. Bryn was relieved to finally be somewhere she recognized, Robin was ever so slightly disappointed that his adventure had been cut short but also quite happy to be somewhere that he knew. Now they had a chance of being able to find Vlad, It couldn't be too hard as there was only a limited amount of places he could be.
"HEY VLAD!" Robin called. He hoped his voice had been loud enough to be heard wherever Vlad happened to be.
Vlad was walking down the stairs when he heard Robin's voice. He raced down the last few steps and in to the hall where as he had expected Robin and Bryn where waiting.
"I've been looking for you! Where were you?" Vlad asked.
"We got lost." Bryn told him. Vlad frowned, how they could get lost, after all those years coming to the castle, he did not know!
"Yeah I walked into the castle and I found myself in the dungeon, then I walked out, walked back in again found myself in the crypt, walked out again, walked in again found myself in some sort of corridor, walked out found Bryn walked back in, into a dark corridor and then all of a sudden the torches seemed to light themselves. So we followed them, got lost, Zoltan found us and brought us here!" Robin explained in a matter of seconds.
"Must be the castle playing up." Vlad said. Bryn and Robin looked at each other, wondering if they had heard him right.
Vlad laughed, he realized that it sounded weird to them; although to him it made perfect sense.
"The castle is taking on the habits of its occupants, aka dad." Vlad explained.
"Cool!" Robin exclaimed. For once Bryn didn't feel the need to tell him off, it was cool, if a little weird.
Vlad smiled, ruffling Zoltan's fur as he moved towards the table where the count had left the letter. Taking it in his hands he skimmed through the content.
Bryn titled her head as she followed Vlad's movements. She gathered that whatever was in the letter concerned Vlad. She was wondering if she should go over to him when he turned back towards them.
"Mum's arranged a party for my sixteenth; she wants it to be before my transformation." Vlad's voice trailed off towards the end of the sentence. Now Bryn understood why he was concerned, the fact that his sixteenth birthday was drawing ever so close and been the hot topic on his mind recently.
"Party! Are we invited?" Robin asked.
Bryn walked over to Vlad. She took hold of the letter and placed it on the table. She then slinked her arms around Vlad's waist.
"Don't worry over it, it was bound to come." Bryn whispered to him. Vlad took hold of Bryn's arms and untied them, keeping hold of her hands.
"I don't want it to happen; I want to stay like this, with you." Vlad told her.
"I know."
Robin sauntered up to his best friends, Vlad hadn't given him an answer and they seemed to be ignoring him. So he was just going to make sure he was still visible to them.
"Hey, Vlad, you gonna answer me?" Robin asked annoyed. He hated the fact that Vlad would start ignoring him when Bryn was focusing completely on Vlad and Vlad alone. It felt as though they were pushing him out at times, he hated those moments, these moments like now.
"I thought that was obvious. Of course you're invited! You just need to be wary of any vampires." Vlad said turning to Robin. Robin was beaming, the thought of being at a party full of vampires excited him. Vlad was concerned for the safety of Robin; he was worried that he was going to get himself in trouble and one time Vlad wouldn't be there to get him out of it.
"Robin promise you won't run off, in the party, stay where I can see you, that goes for you too Bryn." Vlad told them.
"What is it with everyone telling me not to run off today? I'm not three!" Robin exclaimed. That had been the third time in the day he had been warned not to run off (the first one had been his mother that morning telling him not to go any further then the castle and not to run off because she needed him back at 5:00 for dinner).
"Sorry Robin, but you do act like it sometimes!" Vlad backed up his point. Bryn smiled in agreement. Robin frowned, he knew that they were right but he didn't like being told it.
"Come on lets go upstairs, I think dad's roaming the castle in a bad mood so we better keep outa his way." Vlad told them.
"Yeah Zoltan told us." Bryn said following Vlad as he was walking out the room.
When Vlad almost reached the doorway, he raised his hand and clicked his fingers. The door behind him (the one Robin, Bryn and Zoltan had come out from) automatically shut itself. Robin stared after it, wide eye in surprise. Bryn glanced back, then she glanced back at Vlad, there was something about the way Vlad had done that, that made Bryn feel funny inside.
They followed Vlad up the stairs. Robin had so very nearly run into the wall at the amazement of the door shutting on Vlad's clicking command but he had noticed in just enough time to dodge the centuries old wall that had stood in the same place for as long as the count had been 'existing'.
Robin and Bryn sat on Vlad's bed, Vlad was pacing up and down in front of them, making Bryn feel uneasy.
"Look, I've got an idea, to protect you from any vampire that fancies a bite…" Vlad opened the wardrobe and brought out a bag. Robin jumped up, eagerly, aiming for the bag.
"What's in the bag?" Robin asked, snatching the bag from Vlad's hand. He peeked into the bag and frowned.
"Why?" Robin asked Vlad.
Bryn stood up wanting to know what was in the bag too. She took the bag from Robin, who gladly let go, and looked inside. There were two garlic bulbs inside the plain plastic bag.
"Yeah what's with the garlic?" Bryn backed Robin up. Vlad took the bag from Bryn and sighed.
"It's for you two to eat before you come to the party." Vlad told them. Bryn and Robin exchanged glances.
"But I've eaten garlic before and the count didn't notice." Bryn complained. Vlad thought for a moment before he answered.
"But he hasn't tried to bite you on the days that you've eaten garlic, has he?" Vlad said backing his point up.
"No that's true." Bryn replied knowing that Vlad had now won.
"I'm not eating garlic!" Robin exclaimed loudly.
"Robin, please can we just try it, please?" Vlad pleaded with his friends.
"Well I suppose we could try it." Robin gave in, Bryn having already sided with Vlad.
"Good, thank-you." Vlad sighed, handing the bag back to Bryn who placed it on the bed so they wouldn't forget when they had to go home. Vlad moved towards the door remembering something that his father had told him to do before the day was out, something to do with the transformation ceremony. An object that they had once searched the house for; the sword of Dracula. The heir of Dracula, prior to his transformation, was traditional supposed to retrieve the sword and place it in the correct position ready for its use in the ceremony to officially dub him the true heir of the family.
Vlad told Robin and Bryn where he was going and they agreed to join him. So together they made their way down the stairs, through the great hall and down the corridor leading to the stairs that led to the crypt. Vlad descended the stairs first, shortly followed by Bryn and rounded off by Robin.
The crypt was very dark even though it was broad daylight outside and so Vlad found himself lighting the candle nearest to him with his powers, that he was still unfamiliar with and often forgot that he could do some of them.
With some light shedding into the room, Vlad was able to pick his way through the room to where he believed the sword was kept but he didn't get very far before his way was blocked by his apparating sister. Vlad rolled his eyes, all he needed right now was his annoying sister to be interrupting him just when he had thought everything was in order and under control.
"Oh it's the Breather clan is it?" Ingrid mocked. Vlad ignored her and carried on walking, glad that she hadn't apparated directly in front of where he was headed. He managed to slipped by her and continue without looking the slight bit interested; although all his senses were on full alert in case Ingrid planned to do anything drastic.
Robin tried to follow Vlad but Ingrid blocked his way, hissing at both him and Bryn. They took several steps back and let Ingrid follow Vlad instead. They were both worried about what Ingrid could do to them if they didn't do what she wanted them to.
Vlad took the sword gently out of its case; he was aware that Ingrid was behind him but he'd rather know that she was behind him then be worrying on where she was compared to where Robin and Bryn were.
"Looking forward to your big day?" Ingrid teased. She knew he wouldn't be looking forward to it; in fact it was most certainly going to be the opposite. Vlad rolled his eyes, determined that he was not going to let himself get into one of Ingrid's tricks to get him angry.
Vlad swung the sword dangerously in Ingrid's direction. He had no intention of trying to hurt her, just to scare her off. His plan worked and Ingrid backed off and allowed Vlad to go passed her. She figured that her brother with a sword was a deadly combination.
Vlad ushered Robin and Bryn ahead of him up the stairs. He felt comfortable knowing that that Ingrid was behind him and not anywhere near his friends. They reached the top of the stairs and as Robin and Bryn paused to wait for Vlad, Ingrid apparated annoyed that Vlad had paid no attention to her, leaving the three friends alone, just as Vlad hoped.
Grinning Vlad led them into a different room, one that neither Robin nor Bryn had seen before. It was the ceremonial room. A room seldom used expect for anointing and claiming the heir to the Dracula throne and sending off the poor unfortunate un-dead whose existence had been cut short by a stake to the heart. To Vlad's memory there had been no such occasion that had required the use of the ceremonial room. This was to be the first.
He opened the door to the ceremonial room, it creaked and needed a lot of force to get it open but the three of them together managed to push the door open.
"Wait here." Vlad told them. Bryn was happy to oblige to Vlad's command but Robin wanted to know why.
"'cause I am the only one who's allowed to go to the main stagey thing, no one else, I've got to say a few things, put the sword in its place and then we can go." Vlad explained. Robin couldn't argue with that and so stayed with Bryn while Vlad went inside the room.
Vlad could feel the vibrations under his feet as each step he took echoed in the cold room. He could see his breath in front of him and suddenly his jumper didn't seem to be keeping him warm as it had been previously. He clutched the sword, there was a part of him that wanted to put the sword back, forget that he had to put it in the room, forget that his transformation and naming ceremony was tomorrow but he knew that would be the worst thing to do. He had to put the sword in its place, he had to act like he was excited about his sixteenth birthday otherwise his father would go crazy.
"It's just an act." He told himself. "I don't need to get to sentimental about it, I'll just say the words, put it in its place and forget about it."
Vlad had reached the stand. On it was a brown envelope with Vladimir Dracula written on it. Vlad picked it up and opened it; it was the words he needed to say before leaving the room:
I, Vladimir Dracula, place this sword in its rightful place for the transformation ceremony that will happen on the morrow of this day. It will be used to pronounce me the rightful heir to the Dracula throne. I, Vladimir Dracula will become a worthy vampire and claim my title. This is the promise I shall make.
Vlad read this through once and then taking the sword in his right hand and the paper in his left he began to make his statement.
"I, Vlad…Vladimir Dracula, place this sword in its rightful place for the transformation ceremony that will happen tomorrow… I mean… on the morrow of this day. It will be used to pronounce me the rightful heir to the Dracula throne. I, Vlad…imir Dracula will become a worthy vampire and claim my title." Vlad hesitated, his eyes reading the last line but his mouth not uttering it. He took a deep breath, opened his mouth and then stopped.
No. He couldn't say it. Even if he did he wouldn't mean it. He felt it best to leave that one line out; it would bind him to nothing and so if things did go wrong he didn't have to keep the promise because he never actually promised it.
Vlad placed the sword on the stand and slowly backed away, all the while hoping that the absence of that one line would not affect anything too catastrophically and that no one need ever know that he never uttered the line. When he reached about the middle of the room, he twizzled round and walked normally out the room.
"Done?" Robin asked, he was leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed looked bored out of his brain.
"Yeah all done." Vlad told them, there was something in the way he spoke that told Bryn that Vlad wasn't convinced that it was all done. She didn't say anything, there was no need.
Vlad carried on passed his friends, walking on. Robin followed, all too happy to be finally doing something other than watching. Bryn hesitated for an only a second, she sighed, she hated seeing Vlad in such distress and wanted to do anything to make him happy and back to his usual self. She hurried to join Robin as she started to run she heard the door shut behind her. Bryn whipped her head round slightly shaken with the sound and the thought that nothing was there to close the door. Neither Vlad or Robin flinched, they just carried on walking.
They were close to opening the great hall door, when they heard voices. Flattening themselves up to the door, they could hear every word.
"Oh darling, you did get my letter didn't you? The one which I sent by owl?" it was Magda's voice. Vlad's mother had arrived early for the preparations and organising of Vlad's transformation and celebratory party, a little earlier than expected.
"Magda, Magda, do stop going on at me, of course I got you letter its right there on the table!" the count replied even without vision the three friends could tell the count was getting rather annoyed with Magda.
Vlad slumped down the door, ending in a crouched position, with his head in his hands. His dad was bad enough, having to cope with in the running up to his transformation but his mother too, now that was pushing the boundaries.
Bryn and Robin slumped down next to Vlad, they all had the same mutual feeling when it came to Magda. She was hard to cope with and very unpredictable in her ways.
"You, both need to get out the castle." Vlad said remembering how his mother had reacted to both his friends in ways he would not like to be repeated. Both Robin and Bryn where in agreement with this and so together they quickly ascended the stairs, got their things and hurried back down the stairs ready for the next problem of getting out without being seen because of course the only way out from where they stood was through the great hall and into the hallway.
"So how we going to do this without letting Magda see us?" Bryn asked Vlad, hoping that considering it was his castle that they were in he would know of another way out but alas he had never needed to get out the castle via a different route as he had the ability of apparition and the ability to be effectively silent while moving, besides the count was rarely in the great hall when he need to get out anyway.
"What about the way which Zoltan took us?" Robin proposed an idea. Bryn and Vlad stared at him because for once he had actually proposed an idea that could work of course that was if they knew where Zoltan was.
"Did someone mention my name?" as if by magic, who should come round the corner but Zoltan himself.
"Zoltan! Ok right can you take Bryn and Robin back through the secret passageway that you brought them through? That is if you can get back that way." Vlad said.
"Yes master Vlad. Of course you get can get out that way it's a secret passageway isn't it, which generally suggests that it leads out the castle. I thought you would have known that Master Vlad, maybe not as I don't believe the count knows about it." Zoltan agreed in his own informative way.
"If you would care to follow me…" Zoltan said, turning himself round and heading off down the corridor. The three friends followed Vlad's pet to a door, disguised within the wall. Zoltan halted, letting them catch up.
"Would one of care to open the door?" Zoltan asked politely.
"I thought you went into the secret corridor quite a lot." Robin stated.
"That I do Master Robin." Zoltan answered honestly.
"Then explain how you usually open the door without us." Robin said.
"Arh I do not use this entrance, I use the entrance in the library which is more suited to my needs." Zoltan informed Robin.
"Wait so there are more entrances to this secret corridor?" Vlad said not believing that he hadn't known about this before.
Meanwhile while the boys where talking to Zoltan, Bryn pushed open the door, for some reason it felt heavier then when they had used it earlier on.
"Why of course there is, you don't think that someone would build a secret passageway if there was only one entrance in and out?" Zoltan said disregarding the comment and leading on through the doorway.
"Thank-you Miss Bryn." Zoltan acknowledged Bryn's efforts to hurry them along. Bryn smiled it was nice to be thanked for doing something that would otherwise have gone ignored.
The corridor was blowing a cold air on them as they walked through into it. Vlad shut the door behind them and they found themselves in pretty much darkness. Robin grabbed hold of Vlad, the nearest person to him, he hadn't been ready for the dark and it frightened him.
It didn't take long before the place was illuminated by the torches which played the same act they had done earlier on in the day. Glad of the light and not caring about how it got there, they didn't question how it came that the torches lit themselves.
With Zoltan leading the way they continued on without saying a word. He led them through the different corridors which to the three of them seemed like the same corridor repeated over and over again. If they had not been following Zoltan, who they hoped knew the way very well, then they would have said that they were lost.
It was when all three friends were thinking the same thing: 'we're lost, I think we ought to go back', when they finally came to door. it was an old wooden door, which looked as though it hadn't be touched in centuries but they were glad they had finally found it.
Vlad cleared away the cobwebs and some of the ivy that had crept through the gaps in the wood structure and Robin tried the handle. It didn't move on the first attempt but with a little force it eventually gave way, almost making Robin fall but lucky the door stuck on the built up gravel that had accumulated outside the door.
Filing out of the just wide enough gap, they were dazzled by the brightness of the sunlight.
"Well that was interesting." Bryn commented and they burst out laughing. Only to be stopped by Zoltan coughing.
"Master Vlad I don't think it wise to be dawdling around here too long." Zoltan hinted.
Vlad looked at his two friends and as they adjusted themselves, they looked back at him.
"You could come with us." Bryn suggested, she almost wanted to insist that he came with them, to get out the castle and just for a while not worry and have a good laugh with them.
Vlad hesitated, it was a tempting offer and he was about to accept it when he remembered that it wasn't just one parent (whom was easy to get around) but both and to run off now would ruin plans for later. It was best to keep both parents happy at least for now.
"No, I'd like to but now Mum's here I'm gonna have to keep one of them for killing the other!" Vlad said making light of the matter. Bryn looked disappointed but she smiled anyway.
"See you around mate!" Robin said, turning to go.
"Be careful, Vlad." Bryn told him, planting a kiss on his cheek before leaving to catch up with Robin.
Vlad paused for a moment watching them disappear into the distance. He was glad to have friends like them. He felt a tug on his sleeve, Zoltan had his shirt in his teeth. Talking the hint, Vlad stepped back into the corridor and shut the door.
Finished it then? Well I would hit the review button because I'm sure you wouldn't want me not to put the next chapter up… and if I get a lot of reviews this time then I might be persuaded to add an epilogue.