For Crina, the day passed quickly. She lay curled up sobbing, shivering, hurting. Her heart ached. Vlad had lied to her, made out like he cared- but how could he? She wanted to leave. She would return home, beg to be taken by Cristian Farkas, beg for forgiveness. This castle scared her, and she felt trapped.
Slowly, she formulated a plan. She would go to the meal with Vlad tonight, and try to overpower him. Then, she would escape the castle. She was sure she could make it back to the village. Someone would see her, and save her.
So, as the sun set, she opened the wardrobe and looked inside. There was only one dress in here, a stunning, heavy gown of red satin. It would certainly be hard to make an escape in. Still, she had no other option. Also in the wardrobe were some high-heeled black boots and white satin gloves. Rolling in her eyes in disgust, Crina quickly changed. She looked at herself in the mirror on the inside of the wardrobe. She looked quite stunning.
Her hair was a mess, and her cheek still looked bad. She ran her fingers through her tangles of hair, wincing in pain, until it fell smooth and shiny around her face. Now, she thought she looked lovely.
That was when she saw Ioan standing behind her in the mirror, smiling.
She gasped, and turned around, heart racing. The room was empty.
She looked back to the mirror. There was no Ioan. She must have imagined him. Disappointment flooded through her, and she smoothed her hair once more, a strange feeling in her stomach.
There was a knock at the door that jolted Crina from her shocked daze. She looked around as Natasja entered, scarlet eyes sweeping Crina approvingly. "I'm glad to see you made the right decision," Natasja said, smiling. "You look fantastic. Come with me."
Crina was stiff and silent as she followed Natasja out of the room and down a flight of stairs. A cool blast of air ruffled Crina's hair as they reached ornate double doors. Natasja smiled at her, then pushed the doors open.
In here was a large, grand dining room, lit by flaming torches on the walls. There was long table covered in dishes of food, and Crina felt her mouth water just looking at it. She was famished, but the sight of Vlad sitting calmly at the head of the table killed her hunger.
Natasja pushed Crina gently into the room then left, closing the doors behind her. For a moment Crina just stood facing Vlad, an overwhelming urge to attack him for all the pain he had caused flooding into her. And yet, she still cared for him, as strongly as ever.
"Dear Crina," Vlad said calmly, standing up. He looked gorgeous, his hair perfectly clipped back, dressed in a black jacket with silver fastenings and black trousers tucked into shiny black boots. Those deep blue eyes stared at her, and she knew he knew what she was thinking. "You look stunning."
Crina's dark eyes left his for a moment and fell on a carving knife lying on the table beside a roast bird. Her eyes found his again.
"Don't make me hurt you, Crina." He sounded grave, walking towards her, his expression impassive.
"You already have done!" she cried bitterly, snatching up the knife in one smooth motion and holding it defensively as he stopped a foot or so from her.
He raised an eyebrow. "What are you expecting, Crina? I do not fear you or the knife in your hand."
"Let me go," she replied coldly, trying to stay in control, but she had a horrible feeling this was all about to go very wrong indeed. Vlad wasn't reacting in the scared, shocked way she had anticipated.
"Put the knife down, Crina." He licked his lips. "Put it down, now, Crina."
She lunged at him, swinging for his face with her fist, the knife held by her side. He allowed her to get one punch in, and she heard the satisfying crunch of his breaking nose. However, after this, she raised her arm again, but Vlad grabbed her wrists in his iron grip, holding them down by her sides. He looked livid.
"Put the knife down," he ordered coldly. "I am not fooling around, Crina. Put it down."
She stood still, staring at him. Only he could make her feel like this; a strange longing to throw herself into his arms mingled with the urge to swing for him. However, she knew she must escape. She did not release the knife. Instead, she swung it around her grip, so that it cut Vlad's hand. He cried out in surprise and released her.
Taking advantage of this, she tackled him to the floor, holding the knife to his throat, smiling in victory. "I want you to let me go... I want to get out of here," she ordered.
To her surprise, he laughed loudly. "Oh, Crina," he chuckled.
Then he rolled over suddenly, so that he was on top of her instead, blue eyes flashing wickedly. A lot of his hair had fallen loose around his face and he grinned in a way she could only describe as evil.
Crina stabbed the knife into his chest.
His eyes widened, his mouth formed a shocked circle, but no sound came out. Then, he dropped to floor beside her, still.
What had she done? Crina lay still, shaking. She couldn't look at him... she had killed him. She had killed him. And she loved him. Heartbreak, loss, flooded through her like cold water, gripping itself around her heart. She had killed Vlad, the man she loved.
A cold hand grabbed her wrist.
She screamed in horror, sitting up to see that it was Vlad's. Suddenly, his eyes opened and he grinned. "Hello, Crina."
"Oh my God," she whispered, tugging herself out of his grip and scrabbling away. How had he survived the stabbing? Of course, she knew that it wasn't always fatal, but never before had she known a man to sit and talk and grin after having a carving knife thrust into his chest.
Vlad stood up quite calmly, the knife still sticking obscenely out of his chest. He glanced down at it, then pulled it out with an air of distaste, throwing it across the room. It landed with a clatter in the corner.
"Why aren't... why aren't you dead?" Crina breathed, lying still in shock on the floor. "Or even hurt?"
"I am hurt, Crina," he said slowly, taking a step forward. "I thought you cared for me. How could you stab me, my love?" He sounded angry, cold, and he spat out the last word mockingly.
"Please..." she whimpered. She was shaking, terrified. Something was wrong.
He walked to her slowly, deliberately, then knelt down beside her. For a moment he just stared at her angrily, then he extended his arm, offering her his long pale fingers. When she just stared at his hand, he said quietly, "Take it, Crina. Let me help you up."
She was shocked by his sudden mood change, and wasn't sure she quite trusted him. However, since he seemed quite calm, she asked shakily, "Are Natasja and Brianna both married to you?"
He lowered his head, eyes closed, licking his lips slowly. "You know they are."
"But-" she began, but he cut across her.
"Crina, it really doesn't concern you for the moment," Vlad sighed, then took her arm and stood up, tugging her up with him. He looked her up and down. "Are you hurt?"
"No," she said, still confused as to his change in mood. "But, Vlad, what about me... what about me? Am I going to be... be... be a wife to you?"
He steered her over to a chair by the table and pushed her gently into it. He knelt down beside her, so that their faces were inches from each other, and for a moment he just smiled. Then he shrugged. "We shall see," he said quietly. Then he stole a quick kiss.
Crina watched him go back to his seat uncertainly. He sat down quite calmly and smiled gently at her. Crina looked uneasily back. She had forgotten about her plan to escape. She knew there was no escape, she would never be able to escape Vlad. She cared for him too much.
"I need you, my love," Vlad said suddenly, softly. Crina looked at him, startled. He was watching her intently, blue eyes dark with emotion.
This melted Crina. She nodded, fighting back tears, and smiled a little to show she understood. Then she remembered her previous feelings of being mocked for her feelings by Vlad. She felt confusion making her head spin. She wanted to believe him.
"There will be a ball here tomorrow night," he continued. He reached across the table and took her hand gently. "Please be my partner, Crina. Say you will."
Crina hesitated, then nodded slowly. A ball would be a perfect chance to mix with other people and find out more information. "Of course I will, Vlad."
To be continued.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing this. I hope you're all enjoying it. In total there will be 23 chapters to this. I can reveal that some characters from the movie will be in the next chapter (though I'm not saying who- go ahead and guess!) and that Crina is close to discovering the truth about Vlad and his brides. Enjoy!