(Thanks for the positive words and please keep the reviews coming. They really push me to write. Bleh... Daniel's part was really difficult to write, though. Btw, the second half of this chapter is brought to you by the wonderful world of codine infused tylenol!)

Chapter 6:

Laila hadn't slept very well at all that night. She kept randomly waking up, but then immediately falling back into a fitful sleep, her dreams uneasy and filled with shrieking bats and giant ravenous cloves of garlic. The chiming of her clock finally pulled her out of this cycle. She rolled over and opened her eyes, facing the window. It had stopped snowing, but it was still pretty grey outside. The clock sounded it's ninth and final chime and Laila groaned. She knew nobody would be up this early, and she had no idea where anything was in the castle. She slowly sat up and stretched, yawning as she did so.

She looked over at the door and saw her suitcase by it, which must have been heavy thud from last night. She had packed several small bags (toiletries and such) and one big one (clothes, but it had a lot of room left over), but she guessed Herbert had put everything into the big one. Her first order of business was to get into some warmer clothes. The castle was heated enough to keep the cold at bay, but it wasn't a comfortable warm by human standards; that and the nightgown she was wearing was only a light one with three-quarter sleeves. Shivering slightly, Laila got up and unzipped her suitcase. There was a note written in fine calligraphy sitting on top of her things. Laila opened the piece of paper and read:

"Laila,

I took the liberty of going through your things and removing all instruments that could have been used to contact the outside world. Herbert and Daniel will be making some gowns for you to wear so you'll look like a proper young lady in my presence. In the meantime, though, please make sure to wear a skirt to supper.

Sincerely yours,

Count Von Krolock"

Laila felt her temper rise. How dare he keep her here like this? What right did he have? Then she looked down and saw a postscript written in smaller lettering.

"P.S.

I also took the liberty of disposing of your vibrator. A young lady such as yourself shouldn't need such a device."

Laila felt her cheeks grow red with embarrassment and indignation. Not only was she speechless, but her brain seemed to have shut down with only fragments of sentences flying through her head. How did? When? What the? I can't believe...

"Ugh!" Laila crumpled the note and threw it into a nearby wastebasket. She stood there and sighed. 'I just won't think about it,' she thought, getting out a cream colored sweater and a pair of black pants. It was too embarrassing to think about the Count going through her things. At least he hadn't commented on her underwear.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Laila had found her way downstairs and into the dining room with little difficulty. It was much easier to navigate the castle in the light of day. As she was approaching the door she assumed led into the kitchen, she was surprised to find herself face to face with the serving boy from the previous night. He was carrying what looked like two bowls of oatmeal.

"Oh!" Laila gasped in surprise, stepping back to give the boy some room. "Sorry. You're name's Daniel, right?"

Daniel nodded and put down a bowl in front of the closest chair to them, pulling the chair out for Laila. She quickly sat down and Daniel took the chair across the table from her. Daniel began to eat quickly and Laila nibbled and picked at her oatmeal. She never had liked oatmeal much, but she would take what she could get. An awkward silence drew out until she couldn't stand it anymore.

"So how old are you? I mean, you don't look a day over 18."

Daniel pause and looked up at her. He nodded and then kept eating. Laila wasn't sure what to make of his silence.

"So you are 18? Oh wow. How old were you when you first came here?"

Daniel shrugged and finished his bowl, but he politely stayed seated until Laila had finished hers. As she did, she felt his eyes on her and she felt even more awkward. What was she supposed to say when this boy obviously was not going to answer her? When she finished, Daniel reached for the bowl and quickly took off for the kitchen.

"Thank you," Laila rushed as the door swung shut. She didn't think he had heard her. She sighed and waited for him to come back and when he didn't, she quietly left the large dining room. As she entered the foyer, her mind started working. She had to figure out a way to leave this place. She wasn't quite sure how, though. She didn't know where any of the coats were kept and it would be stupid to try and go outside without one. The snow had covered the road into town, so she would get lost for sure if she tried to leave now. She didn't even know where her shoes were.

She had wandered into the parlor where she had met the Count the night before. Her eyes happened upon the window and she was shocked to see that there was at least two feet of snow outside. She hadn't realized how much had come down last night. Looks like she would have a few days to figure out an escape plan.

"Nnn..."

Laila groaned and sank down into one of the armchairs. How had she gotten herself into this mess? More importantly, how was she going to protect herself from the vampires? She knew almost nothing about vampires except that they burned in sunlight and didn't like crosses or garlic. Her vampire knowledge stopped there. Suddenly, an idea struck her. Laila got out of her chair and took off down a random hallway, opening any door that wasn't locked and peeking in, hoping that the castle at least had a library. She was going to brush up on her vampire lore.