First of all, I would like to thank all my dear reviewers, old and new ones, they have been all very-very kind to me, and now I could finally update! So this cahpter goes out to: the Widow Dracula, Agnes Fey, Luthien Anwamane, Countess Alana, Rhea, angel x kii zz, Creative-Insanity, Mysticjewel , Nikoru Sanzo and Alexandria Peterson. I love you all, I sure hope you will have fun reading this! It will be looooong again!
Agnes spent the next several days in relative peace and quiet, regaining her strength after the freezing incident, she didn't even see Dracula. She got bored and upset waiting for him.
„ Who does he think he is, at all?" she asked herself in a fret, while pacing around in her room. She decided to leave the four boring walls behind, and soon found her way to the library, where she chased all the boredom with a tower of books she built next to one of the armchairs. The place did bring back memories to her; she still shivered with fright when she thought about Dracula's fangs caressing her underarm. Yet, she was beginning to question her own sanity sitting in the quiet loneliness of the library. Agnes somehow missed the company of the count. And to her shame and surprise she found him a positively interesting person, despite his annoying behaviour and his constant attempts to seduce her. Agnes lifted her head from the book, and gave a small laugh when she remembered Dracula's face from their last encounter as she jumped away before he could have embraced her. She put her hand in front of her mouth, and kept on smiling. But the memory of dangerous kisses Dracula planted upon her neck still haunted her. Moreover he saved her life. After all the ill things they had done to each other. All at once Agnes became eager to get to know Dracula, her mischievous and tempting spectre and saviour; to meet the man, the other side of the monster. Agnes knew he was a monster who feasted upon the blood of the living; she even wondered how come he didn't take hers yet. Though she tended to forget that at times when her mind was on Dracula's deadly charming gaze. Just like most travellers, Agnes was a slave to her curiosity, and wanted to find out about everything in her own way.
„ Before I leave this place forever, I could find out more about its owner." She thought, and looked at the other armchair with perky eyes. Have some fun. And play the perilous game. This was all about fight and adventure, only in a different way. And strangely she was glad that Dracula didn't seem to despise her for her what others would call „un-ladylike" behaviour.
„ Somehow I have to make him swear he won't hurt Elizabeth though." Agnes puckered her brows; she knew she had to present something for Dracula in exchange.
„ In a way it's luck he can be bribed. But he'll have to settle with something else this time..." she thought as she shook her head. Agnes didn't like pushing things through by acting like a she-cat. Especially not towards Dracula. Did she? The count seemed to enjoy caressing her skin however, and it took all her power to break away from Dracula once he put his enchanting spell on her with only the touch of his cold hands. The angel kept pondering on how Dracula's hands turned warm so rapidly if he touched her; at one moment she felt as if an icicle were brought against her skin, then at the next one his fingers were like smouldering iron rods. How did he do that? Mesmerize her that easily? Agnes looked up at the ceiling as if it could give her answers to the questions that haunted her. She suspected the loneliness brought these thoughts to her, so she quickly flapped them away. She should be angry with Dracula after all for his bad manners! Agnes sprang up from the armchair, she got bored of the book she had been reading long ago, she placed it on a table and set off towards one giant shelf. Her heels gave a pattering sound as she walked away from the warm fire. Agnes' hair was pulled up in a loose ponytail, but a few unruly strands had escaped already, and now framed the gentle line of her face. The shirt she wore had a wide neck that left her shoulders bare, and she began freezing after a few steps. Agnes stopped halfway between the rows of books and the armchair when she spotted a chess-set standing on a table near her. A bleak smile appeared on her face as another memory crawled into her mind; the afternoons in Nádudvar when Lord Peter was playing chess with her, letting his little daughter win at times.
„ Father.." she whispered.
„ He doesn't even know of my disappearing I suppose. Hope he won't for a while either..." She thought. Agnes was worried about Lord Peter, she knew his heart had been sick for a while, and didn't want to upset him. But secretly she was hoping that Elizabeth would not tell him what he hears back from the servants regarding the night of her kidnapping. Agnes wanted to believe that her sister will tell she left for another of her travels, their father could cope with that easier. He will be cross, but not that worried.
„ He has to hold on, it will not be son until I can leave from here!" Agnes thought, and recalled the morning they said goodbye when she left for Transylvania, he seemed so strong then. „ He will be alright" She silenced the worries in her heart and took the white queen and placed it to the middle of the chessboard with a smile. Then she spun around and set off to the shelf to look for a new piece of literature to read. Long rows of shelves were loaded with books, and as Agnes ran her fingers upon their spines, she could feel history. Almost each piece of Dracula's collection was worth a fortune.
„ The count must love books even more than I do! I wonder if he had read them all?" Agnes hit herself upon the head.
„ Stop thinking of him! Stop thinking of his touch!" she ordered herself crossly. She took a random book off the shelf, opened it, and began reading the middle of the page.
„There is a battle that goes on between men and women. Many people call it love"
Agnes made an angry grimace, closed the book and put it back on the shelf. She moved on until she found a theory book with the title „Nosferatu". Agnes took it from its place with a practical smile. The book was old, the pages turned yellow with the course of time, but all the letters were legible and beautiful.
„ You'll never know!" She turned around with her searching eyes already fixed upon the first page, and began walking back towards the calling warmness of her armchair. Agnes took a look at the chess-set again, and to her surprise the dark king has been moved right next to the white queen she put to the middle of the chessboard only minutes ago. She rose an eyebrow then her lips curved to a smile of anticipation. But she retained her serenity and got back to her favourite spot.
„ I will not lose my head this time." Agnes thought as she sat down, opened the book and began reading. After a few pages she could feel Dracula's cold breath upon her hair, and his icy fingers traced the line of her shoulders only seconds later. Agnes indulged his freezing touch as the count began massaging her shoulders and neck with skilful and gentle hands.
„ Your wintery breath gives you away, count" she said.
„ You only knew I was here because I wanted you to." murmured Dracula with a silky voice „ But your scent surely gives you away." Agnes rolled her eyes.
„ Does he always have to have the last word?" she asked herself
„ Where have you been anyway?" she asked the count in a nippy tone. Dracula arched his brows and leant down to Agnes to whisper in her ear.
„ So you missed me darling?"
„ No, I didn't. But if you keep me as a prisoner here, the least you could do is entertain me!" Dracula gave a laugh and straightened his back.
„ You're not my prisoner Agnes. You are my guest here."
„ Guest?" Agnes asked in misbelief " I thought guests can leave anytime they want."
„ Well then do so. Leave! I am not holding you back." Agnes narrowed her eyes and bit her lip.
„ Why thank you Dracula. You are not holding me back, only the fact that there is no way out of here!" Dracula just couldn't help smiling at his angel.
„ You have no guilty conscience now, I guess!" she remarked.
„ Is fighting against anything her lifestyle?" he wondered. He never stopped massaging Agnes' shoulder however and he enjoyed the blood pulsing under her milky skin, as she was getting angry.
„ No love, I have no conscience at all." Dracula leant down to whisper in Agnes' ear again, then his lips took the place of his hands on the angel's shoulder and neck. Agnes was alarmed right away; she had really determined now that she won't give in to the count's seductive touch. Not a bit.
„ Now this is a bit thick!" Agnes said as she lifted her hands and pushed Dracula's head away from her neck. The count got infuriated with Agnes' actions and in a second he was facing the angel grabbing the armrest of the armchair so swiftly he almost smashed it to pieces with his mere grip.
„ How dare you refuse me? Nobody, and I mean nobody has had the courage to that ever before!" he hissed at Agnes angrily. The latter was scared stiff with Dracula appearing in front of her, she even creased the page of the book in her hand a little, but she wouldn't have showed any signs of fear on her face, even if it was for her dear life.
„ It doesn't take courage Dracula, it takes heart and flesh.." she whispered in a low voice, but with eyes resolute. Dracula's face softened of surprise. He had been caught off unawares with this comment again. It had happened quite many times since Dracula had Agnes in his castle, and it was a feeling he found remarkably arresting. Something that he had forgotten long ago.
„ How come you're not afraid of me?" he asked finally. Agnes' lips curved into a fake endearing smile. Dracula's presence seemed to have a frantic effect upon her; it made her grin in the most unlikely of moments. Especially in those of danger.
„ One thing you do not know about me count: I always get furious before starting to be afraid. Those who survive my fury may see my fear. "
„ If he doesn't tear my throat open for this, he never will..." she thought as she bit her lower lip. Dracula was scanning Agnes' face with curiosity. There was such tension among them it could have been cut with a knife easily. Dracula had a relish for Agnes' blood now, the life running in her veins, a piece of true eternity. She would deserve punishment, while he would enjoy himself. But then he oppressed his bloodlust; he wanted the ecstasy of hearing Agnes offer it to him, to beg for her turning. Yet, Dracula couldn't help but admire her spirit, and the soul reflected in her eyes of fawn. She was exasperating indeed, but she had the guts to oppose him in every way she could, even if she was partly afraid. She may have been a madwoman and a danger even to herself, but...
„ But if I could get her to my side, her courage would serve me. Along with her heart...and body. Especially if the little angel came by her very own free will." Dracula straightened his back and moved away from Agnes, and leant his back against the mantelpiece.
„ Last time you were not so dismissive, angel." he broke the silence finally. Agnes popped up from the trance of fright, only for another cheeky comment to leave her lips:
„ Well, that was what you called a...reward. What have you done since then that deserves a reward and that I don't know of?" she asked with inquisitive eyes. Her former fear was gone like smoke with the wind. Agnes eyed Dracula, who was standing with folded arms, waiting for an answer, to go on with their encounter of wits, the war of words. And by the ochre light coming from behind him, she suddenly discerned the fineness of Dracula's well-muscled body and noble face. Agnes was struck by his dark masculine beauty in an odd manner; she never took the time to look at him this way. And not only her eyes gazed but her heart as well.
„ His body...as if carved by Michelangelo himself." she thought, and her gaze became softer as a light smile appeared on her lips. Agnes noted in the back of her mind that the count still didn't answer her question and went on exploring him with her eyes. Her gaze strayed to his hands as Dracula was no playing with the ring he had on his left ring finger. It was then that Agnes noticed that his right ring finger was missing. She tilted her head to the side a bit, and a question just slipped out of her mouth.
„ What happened to your hand?" Right after finishing the sentence, Agnes realised what she had just asked. She quickly put her hand upon her mouth as if she could take the question back with that.
„ Your curiosity will be your downfall Agnes!" she thought, and would have dealt a blow upon her own head, were it not for the count's presence. Dracula, was this time not reading Agnes' thoughts, but felt already quite amused with the changing of looks on her face, answered with a question in a shrewd tone:
„ And what happened to your wrists?" Agnes looked at her underarms quickly. The sleeve of her shirt only went to her elbow and she didn't wear any gloves. The white scars were clearly visible. She folded her arms to hide them and looked back at Dracula stubbornly.
„ Alright darling," Dracula said with a charming smile „ you will tell your tale and I will tell mine. Does that sound suitable?" Agnes still didn't answer, she was always reluctant about talking about that to anyone, especially to someone who didn't even know too well. She hated reliving those moments.
„ Unless you want me to read it out of your mind. Then you won't find anything out! Nothing to comply with your curiosity"
„ Oh, you huge ego!" she thought angrily „ I wonder how you even get through a door with it!"
„ And I bet I could find your tale in one of these books here!" she snapped back. Dracula was getting annoyed with the headstrong Agnes by this time a bit. But Agnes had something else in mind already. She reminded herself of her plan of co-operating with Dracula to deceive him. And she was curious. Very curious.
„ I will tell you about it if you swear you won't hurt my sister. All is about you and me, let's leave her out of this." she said finally. Dracula had to quench a laugh. He had forgotten about little Elizabeth long ago, he never thought she would be of any use to him after that certain incident. Now Agnes seemed to have proved him wrong. That was a 'sacrifice' he could make.
„Fine then, if you insist. But you know a little story-telling is very slim to offer in exchange for such a favour, you know that love?" he asked with a sardonic look. Agnes looked confused at him, she had nothing else to offer, and she was aware of that weak point of hers. „ But don't worry darling," the count said in a charming voice "I'll figure out a way of evening this later." Dracula said as grin played across his features and he waited to hear Agnes' voice.
„ That's what I'm afraid of.." The latter thought, as she gave loud sigh and pushed the uncomfortable feeling of owing Dracula another favour aside. Agnes had to keep the story short, even if she made a deal.
„ I shed my blood when I lost my fiancé." she said dryly „ Will that do for a tale?" As much as he was caught off guard with this statement, Dracula wanted to know more about this. He never expected Agnes had a fiancé already, and partly, he was jealous. This was getting bothersome.
„ Not quite. What nobleman deserved you shed your own blood for him? What did he do?"
„ He was no nobleman as you know it. But he died to save my life. And I have had enough of the world, and the burden of him giving his life for me. Happy now?" Agnes asked, looking at Dracula, tears wetting the back of her eyes, but she wouldn't let well up. Not in front of him. She must not look weak. Agnes lowered her head, and started playing with the edges of the pages in the book she still had in her lap. Dracula communed with the sight in front of his eyes, and the fact that he had managed to drag a secret out of Agnes, that she seemed to have shared with few before. There were only few things he would not have given to see her cry, though it seemed that delight was left for a different occasion. But Dracula had a piece of her heart for himself now. And it was the time he gained another.
„ As for my part...I have lost my finger when the closest friend of mine removed it from my body after killing me. He wanted my ring" Dracula's lordly voice cut through the silence of the library like a finely crafted sword. Upon hearing him speak, Agnes looked up at Dracula suddenly, furrowing her brows.
„ Your closest friend?" she asked in misbelief. Dracula nodded. And his plan worked. He knew too well what her opinion as a warrior would be about such a deed. Agnes was already beginning to think differently of him. It showed in her voice and the in the slight change of colour on her lips.
„ How despicable!" she said and looked away into the fire behind Dracula „He had been betrayed by his friend..." she thought. Agnes believed she had been hurt and abandoned by God and the whole world after the loss of her beloved ones, but being betrayed by someone whom she deeply trusted...Suddenly she realised how utterly different Dracula was from all the people she had met in her life...and how strikingly similar to her.
„ What made him commit such a crime?" she asked after long minutes, never taking her gaze off the flames.
„ He was ordered by God." said the count. Agnes did not respond to this, she just noted to herself that even the Holy Father had his own slaves to do the dirty work for him. She wanted to ask many questions of Dracula, but she just kept them to herself instead. She was not exactly on the right path to carry out her plan either. Dracula was wearing a smile of victory. He was actually proud of himself in a way, he was making progress in seducing Agnes without having to hurt or hypnotize her. She might even develop real feelings for him. Not that he cared for her feelings...did he?
Agnes stood up from her armchair and silently walked to the mantelpiece to fetch the bottle of wine she placed there a few hours before. She tried to avoid the count's gaze, the happenings of the past days had proved that being this close to Dracula, and looking into his eyes was more than the word 'dangerous' could express. But when the angel turned around, she found Dracula facing her, and her eyes meeting the count's charming ones, which blazed in the orange light of the fireplace like black marble tombstones in the sunshine. Agnes was captured in the sight and thesensation as they looked each other in the eye, and so was Dracula. Though he was the first to speak after the long minutes of gramary.
„ You shouldn't look too deep my love, you could see something you don't like." he warned Agnes.
„ And so could you...." she answered in the same tone. And she was weak. Deep down Agnes felt that if Dracula kissed her then, she would return it again, only to regret it afterwards. His presence evoke feelings in her she hasn't had for a few years. But more in her body than in her heart.
„ Though your charm is not enough to make me...Oh my God!" she thought.
„ What is the date today?" Agnes snapped the question in Dracula's face. The latter rolled his eyes in hopelessness.
„ Since when do you care about the date darling?" he asked in a mocking tone „ You're going somewhere?"
„ I just have to know!" she answered stubbornly. Dracula gave a small laugh
„ If I were you, I wouldn't want to owe any more favours.." Dracula said as he began walking towards the door of the library. He knew that he had won this little battle of today; even if it didn't end exactly the way he wanted it to. The rest of the work was up to the silence now.Agnes made a grimace to his back then began pondering on how she could find out what she wanted. Dracula put his hand on the handle and turned back to Agnes who was still standing by the mantelpiece with the bottle of wine.
„ To me, time is nothing but numbers printed in a calendar." Dracula said, then a promising smile played across his features „ And soon my beloved, it won't be more for you either..."
Well this was it! I really hoped you liked it, please review, I would be very motivated to update! And still love you all! (Wonder if I got carried away with that Michelangelo simile...! :-))
