Chapter 3

As you may have noticed – and I mention that in all my works – I TOTALLY SUCK at introductions and endings, so don't expect much of that :)...

Anyway, as promised, here's the update. I'm so excited about this :)

All three of them stared at each other in utter horror, until the door opened again and Nikola stepped in, rather hesitantly.

"I was told to give a hand…" he began uneasy. "B-but he wasn't serious, was he…?"

"Well he wasn't joking either!" Dragos replied, proceeding to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Gah! Just when you think things couldn't get any more fucked up in this damned house, guess what, they do!"

"Well guys… but what are we going to do? It's obviously we can't… do what they want…" Elizabeta whispered.

The vampire suddenly turned and glared at the little Italian who had once more dropped on his knees and was begging for mercy.

"Please-don't-hurt-me-please-please-please! I-mean-why-would-you-do-that-England's-food-already-tastes-incredibly-horrible-and-it's-really- really-the-worst,-and it-would-only-be-even-more-horrible-with-me-in-it! I-know-that-I-eat-a-lot-of-pizza-and-pasta-but-I-don't-taste-at-all-like-pizza-and-pasta-and-I'm-so-very-very-sensitive-too-so-please-please-don't-hurt-me-please-please-please!"

"Ugh…" Nikola groaned faintly rubbing his temples. His headache only lessened when the Romanian used the frying pan he'd snatched earlier from Elizabeta and hit Feliciano in the back of his head, rendering him unconscious. "Eh, better…" he acknowledged.

"Elizabeta, you'd better go to bed now. Nikola and I will take care of this" the vampire said.

"W-what…?" the girl gasped in shock. "You-you're… not thinking of…"

"You know we can't disobey Master, or else… Now go to bed!" he ordered in a strange voice that instantly made her feel light-headed and sleepy. Unable to protest anymore, she was left with no choice but to walk absent-mindedly into her bedroom and just collapsed on the bed.

-x-

Alfred strolled carelessly down the corridor, sort of excited about the upcoming feast – God, he loved hamburgers, especially those containing a certain kind of meat – when a curious sight caught his attention. He saw Nikola, the Bulgarian servant and the Romanian vampire carrying a coffin and apparently headed for the long narrow pathway that lead to the latter's chambers.

"Hey!" he called curious. "Weren't you two supposed to be cooking or something now?"

"A-ah, yes Master" the Bulgarian stuttered "But you know, the meat was a bit hard, which is a bit strange because he was young but still…so… um… w-we needed to let it boil for a while so we… um…"

"But what are you doing anyway?" Alfred insisted.

"I just picked up my old coffin which I'd taken to get fixed. It was broken" Dragos explained quickly, eager to end the inopportune conversation.

"Seriously? Dude, how did you manage to break you coffin?"

"Eh…"

"Anyway, maybe you could open it? I'd like to see the inside" the American asked curious.

Oh, how I'd like you to see the inside! And stay there! the Romanian thought, but bit his tongue. "Oh, why would you like such a thing Master?" he wondered instead, actually genuinely panicked.

Alfred shrugged. "I was curious of the color of the pillows and stuff. They're not white, are they? Not like you're a virgin or something, dude"

"Actually they are white! Whitest silk if you want to know"

"Ahahahahaha! No way dude, that's like way too sad! Hahahahaha!" the obnoxious blonde laughed, finally walking away, much to the two boys' relief.

"Oh fuck off already!" the vampire muttered.

-x-

Elizabeta woke up still a bit dizzy, having no idea for how many hours she had slept. She only knew that she'd had quite a troubled sleep, full of horrid nightmares. Glancing outside on her small barred window she realized that it was already night again. It was almost time for Master's feast. The Hungarian suddenly felt sick and did not want to leave her bed, but she had to.

Heart pounding in her chest, she walked towards the castle kitchens, hearing all sorts of disturbing sounds coming from the inside. A dreadful smell hit her like a fist in the face the very moment she opened the door and she instantly covered her mouth and her nose with both hands. The air was simply un-breathable.

"Oh my God! What the heck have you done in here? It smells even worse than usual!" she shrieked, feeling her stomach gradually turning upside down.

"Eh, well, you know that Arthur's recipes have a very special je ne sais quoi, so that the poisonous fumes emanating from it keep you at bay. It could not be helped" Dragos explained with a wry smile, shrugging.

"Oh damn it! I completely forgot about the hamburgers!" Nikola exclaimed. If Dragos looked even paler than usual, the Bulgarian's face had a definite shade of green. "Could you take care of that? I vomited five times already"

"Yeah, don't worry" the vampire said.

Meanwhile Elizabeta cautiously drew closer to the large cauldron containing the stew, which was still boiling. And she also had the completely uninspired idea to lift up the lid and look inside. Suddenly she saw a pale hand surfacing in the murky-looking liquid and the bony fingers seemed to reach out to grab her. She let out a scream, stumbling a few steps backwards and very nearly falling down on her backside, while the heavy lid rolled down on the stone floor with a loud bang.

"I added olive oil" the Bulgarian said innocently. "B-but it only made it worse"

"Which is quite surprising, I didn't think it was possible" the vampire added.

-x-

"Ah, it smells delicious!" Arthur exclaimed very pleased, inhaling deeply on the contents of his plate and poking the piece of meat with his fork. "Just like I knew it would. Ah, the taste of power!" Alfred did not say much, as he'd already began to stuff his face with the pile of hamburgers.

"I-I can't sit and watch them eating my friend, I can't…" Elizabeta sobbed into her handkerchief. However, next to her, Nikola and Dragos seemed completely unfazed by the respective tragedy. If they did seem a bit worried though, it must have been for reasons that were completely unknown to her.

The three servants had no choice but to wait patiently until the Englishman and his brother effectively wolfed down almost all the food, looking quite satisfied. But suddenly Elizabeta noticed Arthur's face twisting into a grimace, as if he was about to be sick. She heard Nikola gasping, his large brown eyes widened in fear.

"Uh-oh!" Dragos observed.

"ELIZABETA! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL HAVE YOU PUT INTO THIS SAUCE?"

"Actually the problems lies with the meat and not with the sauce, not that it matters…" Nikola mumbled weakly as she stood up trembling. Fortunately, the wizard didn't hear it.

"Leave her alone, she didn't do anything!" the vampire replied defiantly. "Maybe Italian does not agree with your stomach, and you should stick to your usual appalling crap!"

"S-shit! Now he did it!" the Bulgarian whispered.

"Alright, that does it!" Arthur yelled with clenched fists. "Alfred, teach our little fangy friend a lesson!"

And that does it for today ;) Stay tuned for more crack!