Chapter 11

Carpathian Mountains

The sun was setting over the mountains in the west, the night bringing on a depressive silence in the room where Liz sat before a fire. Carolyn and Maggie stood by the window watching the sunset and apprehension filled them both. They glanced from Liz to each other then back at Liz. "Mother, Maggie and I will be going to dress for dinner. I suspect Peter, Rudolph and Vlad will be summoning us before to long."

Liz stood turning to her girls. "I am going to take a long hot bath before I dress, you two should do the same. After we are left alone later, I suggest we come here so we can make our plans on how we are going to escape from here."

Carolyn leaned over to hug her mother, "Mother, do not take any chances, we must think this through. I am afraid once Vicki gets here none of us will be safe including Vicki."

Maggie looked from one woman to the other, "What is this about Vicki coming?"

Carolyn glanced at her mother then to Maggie, turning to walk to the bedside table, Carolyn took out the photo album, thumbing through the pages, she found the one she needed, and then handed the book to Maggie. "Here, whom does she look like?"

Maggie looked at the picture then to Carolyn, "Oh my goodness, this is kind of like that picture of Josette and me. Poor Vicki, so does this Prince Tepes think Vicki is his wife Elizabeta?"

Carolyn took the book from her closing it with a decided thump, she nodded, "All of them Petru, Rudolph all think she is Elizabeta reincarnated. And that is why we are all here? We

believed he will use us as a way to bring her under his control."

Liz took the book from Carolyn putting it back in the drawer. "It is more than that, I found out today Angelique is Barnabas' wife and has not divorced him. Vicki and Barnabas are not legally married and Vlad is going to use that information to force Vicki into a marriage with him."

Maggie paled and Carolyn gasped, "Oh mother no, that will destroy Vicki, she will be so crushed. Why is this happening? Are we all cursed?"

Carolyn was choking back tears of frustration as she paced back and forth. Maggie stopped her holding onto her arms. "Carolyn, settle down. We need to put this on the back burner and concentrate on getting through the evening then we will meet here and see what we can come up with to escape this mad house."

Liz walked to Carolyn pulling her into her arms. "Maggie is right darling. Now both of you go bathe and dress I will see you down stairs later. I want to be dressed before Rudolph comes to visit me here."

Carolyn kissed her mother's cheek, dried her own tears, hooked an arm through Maggie's arm and walked with her to the door, pausing briefly to note. "It's snowing again, so I am sure we will be stuck here again tonight giving us all time to figure out what we can do to end this madness."

Liz watched them go then walked to her bathroom. "Yes, we will figure it out or die trying." Elizabeth had never been more determined than she was now to make sure they all got out of his nightmare together. They were Collins and that had to mean something.

Vlad's Library Den

Vlad sat in his den watching his father in law pacing back and forth. "She is very stubborn Vlad. She fights me every turn of the way. She is quiet beguiling in her stubbornness, she would make an excellent eternal mate. However, I fear she will not come willingly." Rudolph smiled at the show of spirit in the woman that resembled his dead wife. It was no wonder she produce a daughter that looked like his beloved Elizabeta.

Vlad shrugged, "So, once she sees both her daughters are a part of our eternal family, she will come willingly enough." Vlad was waiting for word from Sorin that Elizabeta was on her way to him. He was preoccupied and did not need this meaningless prattle from his father in law.

Petru frowned, "I would prefer Lady Margaret as my eternal mate over Carolyn. Carolyn is spoiled and wears on my nerves." Petru was finding Carolyn's expectant spoiled rich girl ways and independence annoying. She was so like so many of her kind and he wanted someone with some fire. He had been watching Lady Margaret and found her intriguing. If Collins had taken her at one time and she looked like his former lover then why could he not have Lady Margaret instead of Carolyn?

Vlad looked to Petru, "Lady Margaret is to be Radu's toy. You will be with Carolyn, she is your responsibility and I expect you to keep her under control." Petru slumped down in his chair in a quiet pout. He really was beginning to resent his brother in law's insistence to take Carolyn as his eternal mate. An eternity with the woman he had been given would be an eternity of whining and living in hell. Feeling very petulant and put out with the command he spoke sarcastically.

"As you wish brother in law. When is Elizabeta supposed to be here? I am sure once you are with her, you might be more amenable to other options you are proposing to us. I am sure Radu would put Carolyn in her place where I could tame the very beautiful Lady Margaret."

Vlad looked with an annoyance at Petru. "As I have said before and will repeat. You are to take Carolyn as your bride and allow Radu his toy." Vlad looked to a clock and smiled, "Radu should have her on the plane as we speak, we will not get to see her until tomorrow eve, she will arrive long after we have retired. I suspect she will be sedated, so arrangements have been made by staff to see to her comfort and have her ready for our meeting tomorrow eve."

Rudolph picked up a wine glass that held a viscous fluid; he sipped and smiled, "Excellent blend my dear boy. Now, have you informed the ladies that their Victoria or Vicki is the name they call her is it not? That she is coming?" Rudolph set his glass down and sighed softly, he wanted to see this woman that had to be his daughter reborn. In spirit and in form he had never known a gentler loving creature than his daughter and she had been chosen by the head of the Dracul family to be his.

Petru sipped his drink and sighed. "I think Carolyn is aware that Vicki is coming, I may have slipped up when speaking with her last evening. She was in a petulant mood and I was not inclined to indulge her in her bad temper and accidently indicated that when her sister arrived, caught myself and changed it to my sister. So, I am sure she knows Vicki is coming and we believe her to be Elizabeta."

Vlad frown, "Not a problem for now. We shall hold on to this information for a while longer. Now, onto my arrangements for a wedding once she arrives. They are all in place and we shall give her a couple of days to adjust, then we shall be married. I have already had my lawyer take care of the annulment with the proper paper work showing Collins was never divorced from Angelique." He smiled thinking of how appropriate it was to make her capitulate and come to him more willingly. Once she met Angelique and saw her she would know Collins was married to her still.

Petru could read that look on his brother in law's face. "Do you think she will come falling into your arms because she finds out that Collins is still married to the witch?" Petru's tone was bordering on contemptuous, which bought him a glaringly cold look from Vlad.

"I think she will be distraught when she finds out Barnabas Collins is the same Barnabas she met in 1796 and is still married to Angelique." Vlad's tone was equally haughty proud and menacing which immediately shut Petru down from any further snide untoward comments.

Rudolph feeling the tension between the two stood, "Now, now my sons it is time to rejoice in a short 24 hours we all will be sitting in here as one big happy family again. You Petru should be happy your sister would be with us once again. You and she were so close. You Vlad, you should be happy to have your wife back once again."

Both men glanced down to the floor, a look of shame filling their features. "Petru what is your problem with this?" Vlad asked his brother in law in soft tones of curiosity.

"My problem is for a short time, I got to know a little about Vicki Winters Collins, I have to admit there was something about her that reminded me of the humanity I once had." Petru stood pacing to the window to look out at the falling snow. "I saw she was Elizabeta in flesh, breathing, she definitely had Elizabetas tender qualities that made Elizabeta uniquely Elizabeta, however . . . " He paused turned to look to his father letting his gaze travel to his brother in law. "She is now Victoria Collins, and her light shines as Victoria. Which leads me to think she is only a part of Elizabeta that fought to come back and now has a new life and a new purpose in that life."

Vlad glowered at his brother in law. He certainly did not agree with his brother in law and would allow her to remain with any other but he. More forcefully than he had intended he shouted, "NO! I refuse to think she is anything but my Elizabeta confused and needing to be reunited with the same pure spirit she once was as MY," Realizing he had raised his voice in anger he soften his tones and then again spoke having soften his second use of the word 'my' but still held the passionate anger contained. "As my wife." Petru and Rudolph had heard him soften his tone and gain his control with the next phrase, "My wife, she is my wife and will remember me as we were." His words were spoken with tenderness with his thoughts centered on his beloved wife.

Rudolph ever the peace maker moved to Vlad's side patting his arm, "There, there my son she will accept you and love you as she once did. You must be patient; it has been a very long time since she was here in human form. She was separated from you so she will need time to adjust."

Vlad hung his head, leaned against his desk, half sitting on the desk, curling his fingers over the edge; he braced himself against the edge. "I crossed oceans of time and space to be with her once again and I would do it again and again if it meant that we could be reunited in the love we had before."

Petru sighed turned to look at his brother in law. "You have no idea how hard it was for me to not want her to remember me, remember us. How I longed for my sister to know I was back and there for her. I saw nothing of any recognition in her gaze when she looked at me and it broke my heart" His words had grown soft and sad remembering how the first time he saw her she totally looked at him as if they were total strangers. How he wanted to hold her close and confess his secrets to her again. I agree with you brother, my concerns are what if she is never going to remember your love and she grows to resent you and your life style. She resents us all?"

"Why would she want to live her human life, to grow old and die as some old crone? She will have to see what life is like as one of us. With her mother, sister and best friend here and becoming one of us, why would she not see what waits for her with our life style?" Vlad had to defend his reasoning and his decision to bring her back and make her remember her life with them. If it was the only thing he did out of this whole mess that had been brought about because of Barnabas Collins he was going to make her remember.

Petru looked around the room then with some degree of shame he spoke with so much passion and love, "Because some of us, like Victoria has not chosen this life style. If I could, I would never have agreed to becoming a creature that feeds off of the living, to watch loved ones grow old and die before my very eyes, to not have the passion of love, making love, being a father."

Petru realized the room had grown quiet as he spoke, then glanced up to see Angelique standing in the doorway. "Bravo, Petru, the true voice of sentiment." She clapped as she entered the room applauding Petru's right to stand up and speak his mind. Her tone was filled with sarcasm as she moved into the room between the men. "I suppose its time to break out the tissues so we can all dry our eyes Petru, or you might consider you can always be a father, just take a child you like, you can always make love to someone you love, just be of the right mind to know you will never share that love for an eternity unless you bring her to you, as your brother in law plans."

Petru glared at Angelique with pure hate and malice, "Just as you thought you would have control over your true love Barnabas Collins? You were not so successful in that venue now were you witch. It eats you alive even now knowing he loves someone other than you. That is why you perpetuate this farce you call love for a man that will never love you even through an eternity. How does that make you feel?"

Angelique's eyes blazed with anger as she raised her hand to slap Petru. In a blink of an eye he grabbed her wrist holding it tightly with his hand, he leaned into her face and spoke softly, "You are a witch that will never know true love and you resent the fact the one man you could never have is in love with a woman you were unsuccessful in having hanged in your place."

Another joined the room as Nicholas stepped into the room, taking Petru's hand from his sister's wrist he smiled, "And she never will thus the reason we are all here. She is the proverbial woman scorned and wants revenge, while each of you wants your loved one back. Then we put right what was set in motion nearly 200 years ago, the Collins family either dying and one particular Collins never knowing love." Nicholas guided Angelique to a chair and set her down with a tight look in his eyes and with some force to the chair. The look spoke volumes as he caught and held her gaze with his. Then calming his own anger in a blink of an eye he switched his anger filled look to one of cordial welcoming. Turning with his sleazy smile he glanced around the room for the brandy spying it on the table he walked to pour himself a drink, "I hope you don't mind." He indicated his making free with the drink.

Vlad glanced to Angelique and it occurred to him she was the means to his end, however she had her own agenda. An agenda he was not going to perpetrate unless it benefited him. Guarding his emotions he pushed from the desk, Petru had given him something to think about and he now felt himself not as convicted in his plans as he was. Angelique sensing she was loosing him manipulated her fingers and muttered a few words under her breath then sat back to watch as her spell took affect.

In his mind Vlad saw his Elizabeta with Collins locked in a passionate embrace, this thought enraged him and his resolve was reinforced. "Enough of this tripe, we have guests to entertain and though we do not require anything more than the sustenance we drink, they require more, shall we prepare for dinner?"

Rudolph chuckled, "In deed shall we adjourn ourselves to prepare for dinner, it would seem our guests have already prepared." Rudolph indicated that Nicholas and Angelique were dressed in formal attire and that they should do the same.

Nicholas stepped to Angelique's side, "Nice save sister dear, we almost found Draculas' human side. Now, shall we go to the drawing room and await our contemporaries?"

He held his arm out for Angelique to take, curling her fingers around his arm; she stood and smiled, "Thank you Nicholas, I think we are back on track."

Together with the air being filled with her deliciously evil laughter followed behind them. From the dark corner of the room, a dark sinister figure appeared as Diablos stepped into the room. "Do not credit yourself too quickly my dear Angelique, I am about to mix things up and we will see who survives." Shifting from sight the master of the darkness that was Angelique and Nicholas' waited and watched as all the players in the castle connived and plotted for the arrival of the newest player added to this mix. He had his own plans he was about to put into play but it would have to wait until Victoria arrived.

Petru went to his room to get ready for the evening. He paused in the middle of tying his tie when he began to think of the woman he had met that so very much resembled his sister. Elizabeta, oh his sweet dear little sister Elizabeta.

Petru's memories of Elizabeta

His memories were filled with the nights they shared sitting on the bank of the family's estate lake. They laughed and spoke of their future lives and how they wanted to live them. She had listened to his dreams and thoughts giving him her honest opinion. He had listened to her speak of the prince and how much he had captured her heart.

The day Elizabeta and Vlad had wed she was radiantly happy and excited. She had hugged him whispered in his ear to not worry she would be fine she had found the man she loved and would live out her life, have children, and grow old and die beside. He had looked deep in to her eyes that day and saw how happy she was and gave her his blessings.

Then the news came she had killed herself, thrown herself from the top of his castle in grief thinking he had died in battle. His world had crashed down around him that day. Then it began Vlad had renounced the church and he had become the strigoi and systematically brought over all of Elizabeta's family to his life style. Petru did not wish to go into this life style in the beginning but as the centuries passed he became accustomed to living by night, drinking from the warm blooded ones and sleeping in the day. He had paced his life and his new style of living was becoming second nature to him. Then he had heard about Elizabeta and that she had been reincarnated. It was all Vlad had spoke of when he had returned and he wanted to meet her for him self.

Then Collins had ended Vlad's life temporarily and he had not had the pleasure or chance to meet her when she had been here before. His father had extolled the virtues of this paragon of womanhood that was his sister. Vlad had sent him to the United States to 'court' and get Carolyn's attention. That was when saw her the first time. He had been waiting in the drawing room. Endlessly waiting for Carolyn to come downstairs. She had been taking her time as usual. He heard the door open and paused in front of the fireplace, turned and stopped. She was standing there in the doorway. Closing the door she turned and when she smiled he knew he was looking at his sister again. He expected her to walk to him throw her arms around his neck even imagined she had done so in the usual excitement she had always had when seeing him after a long absence.

Instead she smiled politely looked at him as if he, her brother was a total stranger, even held out her hand and chuckled softly, "You must be Peter, Carolyn has spoke often of you. I am her sister Vicki, or Victoria Collins, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." She had waited for him to take her hand and he had with both his hands and covered her hands caressing them softly with loving tenderness.

He had responded in kind, "Very pleased to meet you and Carolyn has spoken of you too." Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Carolyn and he resented Carolyn interrupting this meeting between him and his sister after such a long separation. That had seemed a lifetime ago.

So now he had met her. It was as Vlad wanted. His brother in law had sent him to the United States to court Carolyn, he had his chance to meet Victoria and immediately saw what his father and Vlad had seen in Victoria Winters Collins. However, after a couple of more meetings with her, he had seen something else. She was Elizabeta but she was also Vicki, the daughter of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard and George Patterson. She held a special light to her essence that paled in comparison to his sister. It had been more than her complete trust in those she loved and knew, it was even more than her unselfish nature or her beauty. She held something special in her that was beyond what he had seen in Elizabeta.

There were times that she had brought out his humanity and he found he was questioning his life style. He found he missed the old days of riding over his estate in the sun shine, he missed the feelings he had when he touched someone he would get a rush because the conquest was in stealing a kiss not taking their blood to live. He missed being able to appreciate a woman for being beautiful and not for what she would be when he took her for her blood. The more he was around her the more he missed his old life.

Watching her with Barnabas, their hopes of having children brought home to him he would never know what it was like to have a child with the woman he had chosen to be his life long love and now he felt like a puppet for Vlad and his need to fill his empty life with a woman that could or could not be his sister. Sighing softly he stood and walked to absently smooth his hair into place then turned and stepped towards his door. He was expected to be there for Carolyn tonight but perhaps later he could pay a visit to the lovely Lady Margaret. This thought brightened his mood considerably as he walked down the hallway and towards another long draw out boring evening of Carolyn's incessant whining. At least later he could leave her and go in search of someone more accommodating.