Chapter 28
I awoke with a start, looking around me in surprise. Sunlight streamed through the window, the sun bright as bright could be. Confusion racked my senses as I looked around me, realizing slowly that I was no longer in the same carriage, and no longer with the Count.
The Count. Remembering suddenly what had happened, my hand shot to where the Count had bit me, finding nothing there. It was then that I realized I was not alone in the carriage.
"What is wrong?" I heard someone ask. My gaze slowly traveled to a man sitting opposite me. He was dressed in his best finery, his auburn hair shining. He was the complete and utter image of my Uncle. I looked down at myself, finding that I wore a wedding gown. When had this happened? I most certainly did not remember getting married.
"Charlotte?" he asked again. My heart stopped when I heard him say that. He had called me by Charlotte's name. My eyes shot out of the carriage, seeing us leaving the church. It appeared I had just gotten married. If I were Charlotte…then that would make the man opposite me her husband, Augustus. "Charlotte?" he asked again.
"Nothing is wrong." I responded hurriedly. I straightened my wedding gown, pretending as if I were happy. He noticed my nervous gesture and smiled, attributing my strange behavior to becoming his bride.
"It is perfectly alright for you to be nervous. I have that effect on many people. But, I hope that as my wife you will learn to not be so unsure of yourself when you are in my presence." I smiled weakly at him and felt him lean in towards me, taking my hands. He squeezed them in reassurance. "You know I would never hurt you." He continued.
"Where are we going?" I asked him. I saw his eyes glimmer in happiness, but in a bit of confusion. He laughed as he reached out to touch my cheek. I bent my head to hide the embarrassment I was feeling.
"What is wrong with you all of a sudden?" he asked me. I shook my head in confusion. I heard him lean back in his seat. I looked up and noticed he had crossed his arms in confusion, smirking handsomely in my direction.
"We are going to the party." He said simply. I narrowed my eyes. "The party?" he asked me. His mouth opened slightly, almost as if he wanted to speak, but he quickly shut it. "We are going to visit my parents. They are throwing a small celebration for our wedding. Don't you remember?" he asked me. I slowly nodded my head yes, feigning a smile.
"Good. We should be there in a few moments. I know you do not like the food they serve, but try it anyhow. They have taken great pains to have the best dishes ordered for this occasion. I would not want them to be hurt or offended." He finished. I reached up with my hand, rubbing my eyes.
"I would never hurt them, Aug- " I had begun to say his name, but could not finish it. It was far to strange for me to say his name. Augustus noticed my voice catching and smiled. "Augustus." It was so strange to me using the name of one of my ancestors. I was sitting here and speaking to him, as if he were alive, and he most certainly was.
"I understand." He said simply, laughing quietly as he leaned further back in his seat. "You are not accustomed to using my Christian name. It's perfectly all right. It will take some time before you can, I assume. " He finished.
We traveled on in silence, Augustus turning his gaze from me and slowly beginning to concentrate on the scenery around us. We traveled on in silence, before he ventured another comment.
"I had heard you were suffering from headaches earlier in the day, before our wedding. Are you feeling better?" he asked me suddenly. I reached up to touch my head, rubbing my temple. He took this gesture as an answer.
He moved from his seat and quickly sat beside me. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and he reached out with his hand to clasp my own. I did not pull away in fear of offending him.
"I am feeling better." I said finally. Augustus smiled and nodded, turning to look out the window.
"It looks like we have arrived." He said. I heard the carriage slowly roll to a stop.
"Who will be attending?" I asked him. Augustus had turned his attention to the door.
"Dignitaries, politicians, royalty. In short, everyone will be here." He said simply. He jumped in surprise, noticing a familiar face. "Oh! I didn't expect him to arrive. He doesn't seem like the type of man to enjoy social gatherings…" he murmured quietly to himself.
"Who?" I asked him. He looked to me and sat back in his seat. He quickly gestured for me to slide over to look out the small window. Shock totally and completely overwhelmed me.
"The Count…" I whispered.
"The prince and the King of Gypsies." He said, interrupting my thoughts. My eyes widened as they shot to meet Augustus. "The Valerious."
"I would like to wait until he has gone inside." I said to Augustus. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed him silently nod in assent.
"Of course. I do not like that man, anyhow. I would like to avoid him at all costs." He continued. "He is a strange person, to say the least. Look at clothing. He wears black to a wedding. How inappropriate." I nodded.
"Perfectly unacceptable." I responded. I heard Augustus laugh. I turned my gaze to him for a moment, realizing his tone had become serious once again.
"I would avoid him if I were you, Charlotte. He has taken quite a fancy to you, though he already knows you are married. Please be on guard when close by him. I do not want you compromised." I turned my gaze to meet Augustus.
"I would never compromise myself, especially not to the likes of him. He is a strange little man." I continued. I heard Augustus breath a silent sigh of relief at my comment.
"You are usually so quick and accepting of people, Charlotte. It is strange yet comforting to hear you say something so out of character."
I said nothing in response, keeping my strong gaze locked on the retreating form of the Count. In moments he had disappeared inside the large gathering place. I turned back to face Augustus.
"It looks like he has gone inside." I said simply.
"Good. Come now." He said reaching over to open the carriage door. A footman was immediately at our side. Augustus was the first to disembark. Lifting my skirts, I stepped out as well, the footman gently taking my arm and hand to help me.
Taking a quick glimpse down at my feet, I noticed the ornate heels I wore. Diamonds decorated the buckle of the shoe, the cloth a starched white. In amazement, I did not even realize Augustus' smile.
"You truly out of character today." He said simply. "I hope it is because of being my bride." He said smiling. Blushing in embarrassment, I quickly let my gown down. "We must be going inside now." He said.
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He was a Valerious?? My mind had gone over and over this surprising new revelation. Velkan and Anna had known this all along, but yet they had failed to tell me. How could they?
For three hours we had remained in this social gathering, groups and groups of men and women congratulating us on our union. Augustus remained loyally by my side, his hand never leaving my own. In my nervousness, he had promised to stay close to me, and he had. I longed to go off on my own, to find the Count. But no matter how hard I tried to look for him, I could never locate his familiar form.
"Charlotte Aviere." I heard suddenly. Augustus and I turned to meet the gaze of Vladislaus. His smiling gaze lingered on me. I shuttered.
"Congratulations on your wedding." Vladislaus said, turning his attentions towards Augustus. I noticed Augustus nod coldly in response.
"Thank you." He responded. Vladislaus nodded quickly in his direction before turning his attention back to me. Noticing this, Augustus cleared his throat before venturing another comment. "I trust you are enjoying yourself this fine evening? Everything is to your satisfaction?" he asked.
"Yes, yes, of course." Vladislaus replied, keeping his gaze locked on me. "Your parents have done an excellent job accommodating everyone's particular tastes. Send them my gratitude." He continued. The three of us were silent for some moments.
"Charlotte…" he said, his voice lingering on the name. "You truly do look stunning this evening. Would you do me the honor of joining me in this dance?" he asked me. My eyes widened in confusion. I looked to Augustus, wanting him so much to answer for me. He did not. I struggled within myself to find a suitable excuse.
"I am so very sorry." I said, pretending to be genuinely hurt. "I am afraid I am not feeling well enough to dance. My husband was just telling me that we were going to leave in a few moments. I've been suffering from headaches."
"Oh." Vladislaus said simply. He showed no indication of having been offended. "Perhaps another time, then." He continued. I nodded my head quickly in affirmation.
"Perhaps next time." I responded. I took Augustus' hand, nodding to Vladislaus. "It was truly a pleasure speaking to you." I noticed the Count's eyes lighten in amusement.
"The pleasure is all mine." He responded. "I will be sure to claim the first dance, if that is to your liking." Vladislaus said. Augustus nodded.
"Good. Good. Until then, Baroness." He said. "Baron." Vladislaus said, bowing respectfully in his direction. "I bid you a good night." With that, the Count disappeared from view. I reached out and clasped Augustus' hand, he turned to smile at me.
"I had to say something." I said quietly to him. He nodded quickly in assent.
"Well…" he said, taking a deep breath in apprehension. "What do we do now?"
"I suppose we leave. The Count will think it strange if we do not." I said simply. Nervousness racked his senses as I said this.
"Alright. Let me inform my parents. They will be disappointed if I leave without telling them." He said. I could not recall anything after that moment.
"You are truly engrossed in that book, Charlotte." I heard suddenly. My eyes slowly grew into focus as I realized I had been reading. I raised my eyes slowly. We were in the library of our home. My gaze slowly came to rest on Augustus. His smiling gaze was barely discernable in the subdued candlelight. "You haven't said a word since we've arrived home." He said.
I looked down to realize I was not wearing the wedding gown anymore. I looked out the window, and noticed night descending rapidly through the landscape. Hours had passed since my last conscious thought.
"It was a good book." I said simply. He laughed quietly. Augustus had seated himself opposite me on a rather large seat, comfortably padded.
"I supposed you would like the book." He said simply. "You've been reading that thing all afternoon." He rose from his seat, quietly crossing the room and stopping directly in front of where I sat. I looked up and he smiled at me.
"You did well today. I am glad you were able to come up with such a clever reason as to why you wouldn't dance with Vladislaus." He said.
"It is a pity that I had to promise myself to a dance with him at the next gathering." I said quietly to myself. I heard Augustus laugh.
"A pity indeed. But delicacy had to be applied in that situation. It could not be avoided." He said to me. I noticed as he knelt in front of me, clasping my hands in his own. "You did well." He said. He grew silent after a moment as we looked at each other. Such a handsome and innocent man my ancestor was.
"I am so happy you accepted my offer." He murmured quietly. I slowly began to realize that he had begun to lean in to kiss me. I was afraid to stop him. I struggled to find some sort of question to ask him.
"What time is it?" I said suddenly. He pulled away quickly. He had not realized he had been as close to me as he had. I noticed him blush profusely. He reached up with his hands to fix the collar of his shirt, pretending as if nothing had happened.
"It is about seven o'clock in the evening." He said simply. "Why do you ask?" I shrugged my shoulders and rose.
"No reason." I responded nervously. He noticed this and smiled.
"I am glad I am not the only one." He said simply. "Married life is new to me as well. I hope we learn quickly." He continued. I laughed.
"I suppose. But I think my situation is a little different than your own."
"Oh really?" he asked me. "How do you say?"
I wanted to tell him that I truly was not Charlotte. I was Christine. But he would never believe me. I did not reply to his inquiry.
"I suppose you mean that you are a woman. You are right." He said. "If it helps you to know," he said his voice trailing off. I noticed him redden in embarrassment. "I have never known a woman." My eyes widened in surprise.
"Why?" I asked suddenly. His answer was quick.
"I chose not too. I vowed that I would only show that level of intimacy to my wife. And here you are." He said, gesturing to me. "I am a religious man. I would never forgive myself if I did not wait for you." He continued.
I reddened profusely, making him blush in return. So awkward we both were in our presence. Nothing more was said. I looked out the window, noticing it had already become dark.
"Madam, sir. Your apartments have been readied." I heard suddenly. I turned to find a woman at our door. She bowed deeply in our presence.
"Alright." Augustus said. The woman nodded and bowed once again. "Would you like dinner to be brought to your room?" she asked. Augustus nodded.
"Yes. My wife and I will be dining alone tonight." He said. The woman bowed and disappeared from view, shutting the door quietly behind her. We were left alone once again.
"I am tired anyhow." I said simply. Augustus nodded and approached me. He stopped beside me, holding his hand out for me to take.
"Come, I'll show you were the apartments are." He said. I took his hand as he led me out the door. We followed the large hallway to the left of the stairwell, towards small stone steps, leading up. I followed him quietly as he led me upstairs, down the hallway. We climbed another small set of stairs towards a door. He looked back at me and smiled, before opening the door before us.
"Well, here we are." He said, moving aside to allow me to pass.
"It is beautiful…" I murmured quietly to myself. My eyes shot around the room, noticing the pure elegance surrounding me. The rooms were small, but tastefully decorated. Gold had been painted on the border of the room, a deep burgundy staining the walls. Opposite me, I noticed a large mirror. My eyes widened in shock.
"I bought it for you." He said simply. I felt his hand at the small of my back, nudging me forward. "Go, look at it." He continued. I walked slowly towards the mirror. Quickly I realized I was now Charlotte, in body and in soul. Her face looked back at me through the mirror. Her eyes shined in its reflection, her chest heaved in apprehension.
Through the mirror I noticed Augustus smiling at me. He thought my speechlessness was due to the gift he had given me. How wrong he was. "It is beautiful, isn't it?" he asked me. "I thought of you when I saw it."
I looked up noticing the frame of the mirror soon realizing cherubs decorated the peek of the mirror. It was framed in gold and silver, gods and goddesses shone in relief around the border. I turned to look at Augustus.
"That must have cost you a fortune." I said through small breaths. Never had I seen something so beautiful in my life.
"It cost nothing." He said simply. He approached the mirror, tracing his fingers along the line of the mirror. "I found it while I was on holiday in Italy. To tell you the truth, it was before I had been properly introduced to you." He said. I narrowed my eyes in confusion.
"Why would you buy me a gift before you even knew me?" I asked. I noticed him smile, never turning his gaze from the mirror.
"I knew of you." He said simply. I noticed him blush slightly. "I confess I was in love with you from the first time I saw you at that picnic our families had arranged." He said.
"It's beautiful…" I said again. "Thank you." I could muster no other words of gratitude.
"Well," he said. "I hope it will be of some use."
He quietly slipped away. I remained staring at the mirror. Reaching up, I unpinned my hair, laying them gently on a small table beside the mirror. My dark hair fell in ringlets about my shoulders.
"Augustus." I said simply. "My brush. Do you know where it is?"
"Let me get you one." He said in reply. I noticed him disappear. In moments he had returned, holding a brush, which I assumed to be my own.
"Thank you." I said simply. I took the brush from his hands. He remained standing beside me, his gaze on my reflection. Slowly, I reached up and began to brush my hair. "It is a perfect mirror." I said, trying to avoid silence. Augustus did not reply.
He stepped behind me slowly, reaching up with his hands to touch my hair. My heart began to pound, realizing soon what his intentions were. I felt him take my hair and place it over my shoulder. In moments his lips had traveled to my neck. My eyes widened in shock.
"What are you doing?" I asked almost angrily. He did not reply. I felt his hands travel to my shoulders, as he spun me around slowly to face him. He smiled.
"Charlotte…." He said quietly. He reached for the clasp of my necklace, undoing it carefully. A voice suddenly invaded my thoughts.
"Christine…" it called to me. "Christine it would be ill advised to stop his advances." I said nothing. Augustus had pulled away from me quietly, and had walked to the bedside table, laying my necklace on it. I noticed him reach his hand expectantly out to me.
"You are Charlotte now." The Count explained quietly to me. I looked to Augustus as he held his hand out to me. "Let things go as they should may." He said.
I approached Augustus quietly, my hand reaching out to take his.
What am I to do? My mind screamed out to itself. He had seated both of us on the bedside. My back to him, he was slowly beginning to undo the lacing of my bodice, revealing the corset beneath.
"Do you want it to end now?" I heard the Count's voice say to me. I squeezed my eyes shut, refusing to hear his voice. I felt Augustus' hands travel around to my shoulders. He pulled me back towards him, kissing me gently, trailing up to my neck. He was falling back towards the bed, and I was quickly losing control of my body, Charlotte's body.
I was outside of the situation now, a witness to the whole scene. Charlotte lay on the bed, wrapping her arms around her husband in a tight embrace as they kissed. A flash of darkness ensued. Their voices could be heard as they spoke sweet nothings. Her frenzied cries for release, his groans of satisfaction. Then nothing more.
"What is happening!" I screamed angrily. "Why do you do this to me!" I yelled. In moments, I had shot up, realizing I was again by the side of the Count. I looked down to my bloody shoulder. My eyes widened in fear.
"You did this to me!" I screamed angrily. In moments I had raised my hands to punch him, but Dracula stopped me immediately.
"It couldn't be helped." He said. "Those were the random firings of my memory." He said.
"Those were most definitely not your memories!" I screamed angrily. "Those were Charlotte's, her most intimate memories!" He laughed despite himself.
"They were mine after I killed her." He said simply. My heart seemed to stop. I fell back in my seat in pain. He had killed her? I had thought she had escaped.
"As well as that unapproachable husband of hers." He continued, cold to my emotions. His gaze slowly turned out the window.
"A pity it was indeed. Their children must have cried much when they found the bodies of their dead parents in the morning." He finished finally. I had grown silent. I could say nothing more.
A/N: Wow….nine pages of just this chapter…I didn't expect it to end up being as long as it did. I hope you guys liked it!!! I especially liked writing Augustus' character. I think he is quickly becoming my favorite OC next to Christine. I'm totally loving this storyline!!! Onto more interesting matters, though. I know you need your explanations, if you haven't noticed already.
Dracula is sorta going through this confusion stage. He is totally and utterly fascinated with Christine, though he hates her with every fiber of his being. He's confused about what he should do. Should he kill her? Should he let her live? Should he make her his? He has not an idea. I kinda like where I am taking this!!!
Anthem82: I am so very glad you have been as loyal to reviewing my story as you have. I hope you like this chapter as much as you have liked the others! I've tried so hard to make seamless transitions between new sections of writings, and I hope I have succeeded!
Luthien: I love your reviews, and I'm glad you like my story!! Tell me, what do you think of Dracula so far. Have I gotten him pretty well in character? I hope so.
Widow Dracula: Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! I hope you like this chapter as much as the others! I've added a bit of flesh to the story of Dracula and Charlotte, which I hope you like. There will definitely be more of an explanation to what happens in the next few chapters! I hope it sounds believable enough. Let me know!
Countess Alana: Your story has not been updated in so long!!!! Your next chapter sounds good so far, but I hope you finish it soon because I really want to know what happens next! (I know I sound harassing, but I really really like your story!) Anyway, I hope you like this latest installment! Dracula is cool and collected, as always.
Italyn Punk: Always glad you like my story!!! I love new reviews, and hope you will read this chapter and love it as much as you have liked the others!!!!!
And, in response to a reviewer: No, I am not planning on killing Velkan. He isn't supposed to die yet, lol. I have many plans yet open to his character. I know you guys are all going to love it! I am trying so hard to make this story seem like a believable prequel, and I hope I am succeeding so far. Let me know!!!!