"Where shall I start?" Junior asked, his eyes boring into mine, gauging, trying to guess how much truth I could bear.

As I was a part of this world, their world now, too, I needed to know all, to understand everything.

"Wherever. Just tell me everything. Please."

He sighed and said, "Two girls have disappeared from the village."

As simple and easy to understand as this statement seemed to be, it did not explain anything. Not to me.

"They got lost? Ran away from home? Surely they'll come back. Someone will find them. But what does it have to do with your father?"

"Oh, Samara. Think." He sighed. "Humans don't simply disappear in a place where there are at least as many vampires as them. When something like this happens, they always suspect us, those of our kind. And they are right to do so. Do you remember what Mother told you? About hunting?"

He paused, letting the information sink. I leaned against the back of my chair, feeling sick. My skin crawled into gooseflesh, and my palms started to sweat. They hunt humans. At least some of them do. I put my cup carefully back on the table before I would drop it. No... It couldn't be true. Just that it was. I knew it, of course. I just didn't want to admit it to myself.

"You asked," Junior said, hands raised in a gesture of resignation, a guilty look in his eyes. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No. I want to know." I insisted stubbornly.

"Drink then," he ordered, refilling my cup, forcing me to take a sip before he went on.

"That's what happened to Clara's sister. They took her, and we found her too late. She was already dead." I could feel that he didn't like telling me all this, but he had promised, and he would keep his word.

"But you know who... Can you find out... " I started, in a vain attempt to find the right words to form my question.

He understood anyway.

"It could have been anyone. Once they leave the place and their victim, if we come too late, it's impossible to trace them. We would have to catch them while they are still there, to see them. Or the victim, if they survive, would have to recognise them. But it doesn't happen. Not often. Those who survive usually remember nothing. It's the same reason why they never caught the one who had killed you."

At least I could understand this easily. There had been no witnesses back then. Even now, with some of my memories back, I couldn't lay an accusation against Radu without having it all explained by him first. Because Radu hadn't been alone. And it wasn't supposed to happen.

"But why did they call your father?" I asked, coming back to the more urgent topic of our conversation.

"They always do. Even though, for the humans, he is practically one of their...  enemies, they still respect him as the highest authority. He is the prince, after all. And we do our best to track down and punish the guilty, although, mostly unsuccessfully." He paused, his look distant and forlorn, lost in memories I did not share. "We try to keep peace in this place, Samara. You've met Clara's father. Most humans see us exactly like he does. It wouldn't take much for them to... do something silly. And the consequences would be disastrous."

It was pointless to ask on which side the disaster would be greater. I was sure that there were more vampires of Jusztyna's sort, hungry for human blood, than of Vlad's, who tried to protect them.

I shivered and took another sip of my wine, pushing away the plate of food Junior put in front of me. Suddenly, I wanted to finish this conversation. I could only take in as much of this world at a time.

"What about the letter? Is he safe? Is he coming back?" I asked hopefully, meeting the green eyes observing me intently from across the table.

"Safe, yes, but not coming back yet. He left Sighisoara, hoping to track down the abductors and the girls. Ioan is supposed to follow him. And I'm to stay here, to look after you, Human," he added after a short pause, a small smile playing on his lips.

I was sure he would much rather go with Ioan. I would, too, prefer an active danger to sitting here, waiting, going insane with worry as the hours stretched, turning into days.

"He did not go alone, right? Is he armed?" I stretched my hand towards him and clutched at his arm tightly, my knuckles turning white. Please let them be armed and many. I was not sure if arms or numbers would help in situations like this. Against enemies like these. It would make me feel better, though, knowing that he wasn't alone and unarmed.

"He took a couple of knights," Junior said, taking my hand in his, in an attempt to soothe me. It didn't work. "Ioan will follow him tonight with ten members of the Guard. That's what he asked for. The knights carry swords. Father and the Guard don't."

That wasn't very reassuring.

"They will find them, Samara. They will bring the girls back to their families," he promised, squeezing my hand tighter.

"What if they come too late?" The question was inevitable after what he had told me.

"Then Father will have to solve the situation that occurs. Whatever it is. As best as he can. And he will. Trust me."

A loud knock on the door made a full stop to our conversation. Junior looked at me, eyebrows raised in a silent question, and I nodded my consent.

"Come in!" he called loudly enough to be heard on the other side.

Shadow preceded Clara, Ioan, and one of the maids inside.

The wolf crossed the room in a few graceful leaps, making a beeline for me.

"You're drenched! Where have you been?" I exclaimed, stroking his ears as he sat down at my feet resting his head in my lap, nostrils flaring, tongue lolling out of his mouth. "Clara, would you pass me a towel?" I asked, waving a hand in a general direction of my basin.

"Good. I see you girls will be busy for a while. Will you let me and Ioan retire into the library? I'm sure he would like a rematch after his last, ungraceful loss, wouldn't you, my friend?" Junior's words were followed by a low growl from the Captain who stood by the fireplace, keeping a safe distance from the wolf.

"Off you go then," I said, raising my eyes from the beautiful wild creature, my fingers buried deeply in its soft damp fur. "We will talk again later." I met Junior's eyes, the sentence coming out as a half question. There were still a lot of things I didn't know.

"At your service, my lady," he said, lips twitching with a suppressed smile.

Good. I preferred this smiling and teasing Junior to the forlorn and tragically serious one I saw in him during our ride in the forest the day before.

It did take us a long while to dry the wolf as well as we could-- I tried not to think about what Katerina will say when she finds my ruined towels-- and make him a place to sleep next to the fireplace, using a piece of fur Clara had found in my dressing room. But as soon as Shadow was asleep beatifically, not requiring my attention anymore, the afternoon started to drag.

Clara had brought a little basket with needlework to pass the time and sat down to embroider by the window as soon as the maid cleared away the unfinished lunch, leaving us alone.

There was nothing to do for me to occupy my hands and mind. I didn't want to make a nuisance of myself by disturbing the men in the library, so I lay on the bed, willing myself to fall asleep. Failing. I took my book and tried to read, but failed again, unable to follow the phrases. They did not seem to make sense anymore. Or maybe it was because the Dracula I had read more than once and knew so well suddenly acquired a new meaning in this place. It became more... personal. It was still an invented tale, of course, but it looked less fantastical than before. It held some truths, too-- vampires existed. They could be killed. And as much as I had always liked Van Helsing, I couldn't stand the idea of vampires being killed right now.

Hiding the book under my pillows, out of sight, I got out of bed and started pacing the room, door to window and back. Again. And again. Trying not to think, concentrating on counting the steps, noticing the imperfections of the stone floor under my feet, ignoring Shadow's occasional sighs, and Clara's curious looks. Not caring that I was most likely disturbing both of them by my behaviour.

There were precisely one hundred and fifty steps from the door of my chamber to the window, I decided when the sun that had shone for the most of the afternoon, finally touched the tops of the Carpathians guarding the distant horizon. It disappeared quickly behind, leaving the chamber bathed in shadows and fast spreading semi-darkness, forcing Clara to move to the fire to continue her work.

"Shall we go to eat now?" I called, letting my voice carry down the dark corridor to reach those in the library as soon as it seemed to be dark enough to have dinner. "I'm hungry."

That was a lie, but they didn't need to know. I would happily eat if it meant that after dinner, Ioan and his Guard would be off... I couldn't wait any longer.

They were at my side before the words died on my lips, making me jump. I looked up, from one smiling face to another, trying to decide which one and how to make pay for startling me first, making them both laugh at my obvious intent and indecision.

In the end, I settled for a frown when Junior put his arm around my shoulders and, still laughing, exclaimed, "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. You should see your face when..."

"Fine, that's enough," I interrupted him tartly. "Is it time to eat now? Can we go down into the kitchen?" I had enough of my chamber for the day.

"Sure, I bet old Cook will be happy to have us all there again," Junior said, still chuckling as he walked over to the door, opening it wide.

"Are they always this annoying?" I whispered to Clara as we passed through, preceding the two men in the corridor.

"Not always, my lady," she whispered back, looking all doe-eyed at Ioan.

Obviously, she didn't find him annoying. My heart ached at the thought of having to send Ioan away from her soon, making her feel the way I was feeling... But that was how things worked here. The Captain had his orders to follow.

I slipped my arm through Clara's to match her pace as we led the way down the candle-lit corridor, listening to our companions' friendly banter. They did not seem to be concerned about anything at all.

Men, I thought, shaking my head.