28. Fear

"Get up!", Lily heard William shout as he unlocked her cell door. He then grabbed her forearm roughly and pulled her up to him. Crushing her body against his own he wrapped his arms around her small waist.

He stroked her hair with faked gentleness and whispered: "Scared, love?" William waited for her to answer to find her unable to.

"Of course you are", he replied to his own question, "But you needn´t. As long as you´re a good girl I´ll treat you just as you like it. But if I notice any disobeydience from you... well, I know you wouldn´t do that, or would you, love?" Lily shook her head. It was just what he wanted her to do.

But what he really meant with it she didn´t understand. She was going to be burned in an hour and he was talking as if he knew something she didn´t know.

For a brief moment he took his hands away from her. Lily felt much more comfortable without him but couldn´t show that. She felt unable to even think clearly. Then, much bigger than that was her fear of dying. Of not seeing Vladislaus again.

She suddenly felt a strong arm wrap around her and lead her outside. Lily took one step after the other, knowing it were her last.

The young "witch" could already see the stake. Still people were throwing chairs and other wooden material on it.

The noises got louder as they approached it. Now the last things were prepared. A huge pillar made of wood had found its place in the stake´s middle. From a low distance Lily could see villagers and the inquisition draw nearer to watch the scene.

Another with whose hands were already tied behind her back was told to step on the stake and to lean against it.

William stepped behind Lily and did the same to her hands before pushing her beside the woman. With a large rope they tied them to the pillar. Her heart started beating faster and faster as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.

The ropes were arranged tightly to them, almost pressing the thin bodies of the women to the wood.

Lily took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. She remembered she had never expected that to happen as Dracula had made her his servant.

He had been the one who had told her that she was an angel. He was the only man she had trusted and loved. Letting her gaze wander over the crowd of interested people she could see men litting torches. But something much more important caught her eye:

Dracula, dressed in his usual black clothes took his seat in the crowd. He was surrounded by two women in white, his two brides. She hadn´t seen them in quiete a while.

Lily knew that he was knowing that she was on the stake. Yet his eyes were fixed on nothing. He just stared at any place before him.

She felt tears in her eyes. But they had no chance to leave its owner. The inquisition threw the burning torches on the stake. The flames came in contact with the wood and gave it their heat. One flying torch almost hit the woman beside her, who inhaled sharply at that.

Finally, after such a long time Dracula came in eye contact with her. For a few seconds Lily could have sworn to see the will in his eyes to free her.

But she slowly shook her head. She was tired of being caught, chained and then freed again.

She formed the words I love you with her lips without a sound leaving them. Lily didn´t even know if he had seen it. The flames now touched the women´s skins. She tried to ignore it at first but as the fire reached her waist she cried out, releasing the sorrow and pain she had kept inside.

With a sharp pain rushing through her head she looked at the woman beside her, who seemed to be unconscoucious from the smoke.

Lily closed her eyes again. The pain was unbearable and the greatest she had ever felt. She didn´t know how long it took her until her screaming ceased.

But the feeling after it felt surprisingly good. As she finally opened her eyes she saw herself. She could see her body being bound to the wooden pillar while everything around her was bathed in white light. And she also saw her feather wings that had grown from her back.

It probably was her ghost that semmed to float in the air. Or was the Lily on the stake the ghost?