Erik was a little afraid to go to sleep, but he found he was exhausted. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillows, and slept for hours.

 When Erik awoke, it was still the early morning hours, and still dark outside. He stirred when he heard the door to the room open, and someone stepped inside and quickly shut the door behind them.

 "Oh! Pardon me," he heard. "I did not know anyone was in here."

 Erik struggled to sit up in the bed. Standing by the door was the young man he had seen in one of the coffins the day before. He was now dressed in different clothes, but still had that same pale, sickly look to him.

 "No need to concern yourself," he said. "I am only a guest who may not be staying very long."

 "Oh. Is he going to let you go?"

 "He? Do you mean Count von Krolock?"

 The boy nodded. "He doesn't like me. I think he would kill me if Sarah were not so fond of me. Are you a vampire, too?"

 "No, I am not," Erik replied, "And I am thankful that I am not."

 "Oh. I see. Oh, I have not even introduced myself, have I? I'm Alfred. How long have you been in Romania?"

  "Not very long. I promise you, I didn't come here on purpose. Are you hiding?"

 Alfred nodded. "Yes. Have you met Herbert von Krolock? He...he's very fond of me, and he scares me. He won't leave me alone, and the only thing I can think of to do is hide somewhere. I would speak to the Count, but...I am afraid of him, too."

 Erik sighed. This boy seemed completely hopeless. Very anxious, afraid of everyone.

 "Where are you from?" Alfred asked. "Not Romania?"

 "No. I'm French."

 "Ah, French."

 The boy was giving him an odd stare. Erik reached up to his face to make sure he was still wearing his mask. He was, so it had to be the mask he was staring at.

 An awkward silence had settled in, which was broken when they heard a voice softly call, "Alfred?"

 "That sounds like Sarah." Alfred quickly opened the door. "It is Sarah!"

 Sarah came to the doorway and smiled. "Here you are. Are you all right?"

 "Yes." Alfred nodded. "I was just...hiding. Just hiding. Have you met our guest? He comes all the way from France."

 "Oh, yes." Sarah smiled at Erik. "Hello again. Are you feeling well?"

 "Fine," Erik answered. "It is good to see you have found each other."

 "Yes, I suppose I don't have to hide now," said Alfred. "Why don't we go explore? Do you want to join us, Erik? We should still have time before the sun rises."

 Erik shook his head. "No. I would prefer to stay here. Another time."

 Erik watched Alfred and Sarah walk off hand-in-hand. They reminded him of another pair of young lovers he once knew, one he had so desperately tried to end.

 After all the sleeping he had done, his initial fatigue and weariness was gone. But know he found he was starving. It had over twenty-four hours since he last ate anything.

 Cautiously opening his door, Erik went down the hall to look for the dining room. It was empty when he arrived, but he found that there was a place already laid out at the table. There didn't seem to be any other living people there, so he wondered if it was for him. It smelled delicious, and when he sat down, he devoured it much faster than he expected himself to.

 He looked all around the dining room. There was certainly no one else there, no one but him. But if he discovered who left that meal for him, he would remember to thank them.

~~~~~~

 In another part of the castle, Count von Krolock was thinking about this current situation. Erik, the man with the mask. There much more to him than just a man, or even just a mask. He had a story, one that the Count wanted to hear. He didn't know what he would ask Erik to tell him, besides just asking him to tell his tale.