A new twilight began to dawn, the sun gradually beginning to disappear on the horizon behind the chain of snow-capped mountains, real giant teeth of rock similar to a great natural barrier which encircled the valley. A sea of gray clouds had gathered, and a rain of snowflakes had started falling since several minutes, thickening the already heavy layer covering the ground and the trees.

Returning to her personal quarters, located in the great north tower of the castle, Lady Dimitrescu was now seated on her large velvet chair, facing her white dresser and her large mirror with a golden outline. In silence, and in the candlelight as well as that emitted by the flames of her fireplace, she looked at her hairstyle, then the complexion of her face. Then she took her lipstick from in front of her and applied some carefully to her lips, seeing that it was starting to fade a bit. There was a glass with blood on it next to her, but she didn't look like she wanted to touch it for now.

Then, after putting on the lipstick, the Countess grabbed her comb and adjusted the ends of her hair a little, making sure they were still curly. A knock on her door was then heard.

_"Come in." she said in a calm voice but imbued with the authority that made her character, without looking away from the mirror and continuing to do her hair.

The door opened and let in one of the countess' daughters, the one wearing her red stone necklace. The latter walked smoothly to the middle of the room, on the large rug decorated with the coat of arms of the Dimitrescu house, and with clasped hands, politely waited.

_ "Yes, Bela. What do you want?" Lady Dimitrescu asked, finishing with her hair and putting the comb back.

_ "Dinner will be ready soon, mother." Bela replied. "Daniela and Cassandra went down to the dungeons to look for the young mortal, as you ordered."

At these words, Lady Dimitrescu gave a sinister smirk, and rose calmly from her seat, checking one last time for any folds in the fabric of her dress, putting her black gloves and put her white pearl adornment around her neck.

_ "Mother, you are beautiful, as always." Bela commented then, admiring the countess as if she were the most magnificent woman in the world.

_"Thank you sweetie." Dimitrescu replied with a smile and a loving look towards her.

And finally, after she judged that everything was perfect according to her vision of things, Lady Dimitrescu went to the clothes rack next to the wardrobe, and took her wide-brimmed hat which she put back on her head.

_ "Right. Let's not make our dear distinguished guest wait any longer." Lady Dimitrescu joked darkly as she walked towards the door out of her room, followed by Bela who accompanied her mother's joke with a sly laugh.

*************

Meanwhile, Mathias was once again sitting on that rotten old mattress, deep in that shitty, dark cell, damp and smelling of death, blood and piss. Sitting, his face sunk into his folded legs, he had been silent since he had been brought here by the Dimitrescu girls, after that first escape attempt which had completely messed up. Evasion? My ass, he told himself in his head. It had only been a devious game orchestrated by the three witches for entertainment. Besides, how could he have thought for a single second to be able to flee, in the face of beings endowed with capacities which exceeded the very laws of reality?

As he brooded over this bitter failure, Mathias winced in embarrassment as he rubbed his still sore throat by Dimitrescu's superhuman grip, when she lifted him off the ground as if he was no heavier than a ten gram bag. If she had wanted to, she could have broken his neck or crushed his windpipe with a simple gesture, but she hadn't.

But as he thought back to that truly terrifying moment for him, he heard the sounds of metal doors opening and footsteps echoing on the damp flagstones of the hallway, approaching his cell. Quickly, Mathias rose to his feet, his back against the back wall and more than suspicious, his heart pounding with fear but doing everything to keep his calm.

In the light of a flaming torch, two of the young witches then presented themselves in front of the bars of the cell. With them was one of those loathsome undead dressed in patched rags, with a rickety body and holding an iron bunch of keys in his hand waiting idly for the next order from his mistresses.

The two witches approached the bars of the cell, looking inside to see Mathias waiting for them, looking at them contemptuously.

_ "Oh, look at him, Daniela, he looks grumpy." laughed the girl with the yellow collar, with a certain sadism.

_ "You're right, Cassandra." answered the one with the green collar, which was called Daniela. "Do you think we should come in to console him a bit?"

With these words, the one who called herself Daniela looked at Mathias with still a touch of madness in her eyes, and amused herself by miming a kiss with her mouth through the bars of the cell. Mathias swallowed in anguish, and that obviously made her laugh.

_ "Come on, hold on with dignity, Daniela." Cassandra said, nudging her sister's shoulder, but still laughing with her at the questionable joke. "After all, he's mother's guest of honor. Guard, open the cell, and faster than that!"

Hearing her say that, Mathias drew back even further into the cell, fearing the worst. What are these crazy girls going to do to me this time? Torture me for their own pleasure?

On this order, the zombie reacted without question and in inhuman moans, unlocked the cell door, with a certain slowness and awkwardness certainly, but succeeded all the same, under the rather circumspect gaze of the two sisters.

_ "Stupid walking corpse." Daniela hissed.

She then showed the beginning of a sly smile, and in a very quick and completely gratuitous gesture, cut the forearm of the zombie with her sickle, making Mathias jump in surprise and fear. Cassandra on her side, not really surprised, sighed heavily at the action of her sister, showing that it was not the first time that this had happened. The forearm fell heavily to the ground in a pool of black blood, and the zombie, feeling no pain, stared stupidly at his severed arm without reacting. Daniela then laughed like a hysteric.

_ "No but look at this, they look even dumber without their arms." she said cruelly.

Mathias was watching this scene, his eyes wide. They're completely nuts, he thought.

But suddenly Daniela stopped laughing as she received a firm slap on the back of the head from the third sister, Bela, who had just arrived from the hallway. Bela who, Mathias noticed, seemed to be the most calm and thoughtful of the three, much like the big sister.

_ "Daniela, I've told you over a hundred times. Stop damaging the staff, it's messy. You know that since all the inhabitants of the village are gone, we can't replace the living dead too much damaged."

Daniela rolled her eyes, huffing like a bored child, but still obeyed her sister's order.

Bela was the one who entered the cell first, stopping a meter in front of Mathias who dared not move.

_ "You will come with us. Tonight, you have dinner with our mother." Bela said firmly and bluntly.

Mathias thought at first he had misheard, but no, his ears were not blocked. He didn't believe it for a second, suspecting that it was still a trap of those three psychopathic furies.

_ "Are you serious? First you imprison me here as your toy, and now I'm going to have dinner with the mistress of the castle ... but what the fuck is this joke?!" answered Mathias at the end of his nerves.

Behind Bela, Daniela and Cassandra were chuckling softly at seeing the young mortal lose his temper like this.

But Bela, meanwhile, didn't seem much amused, and with superhuman speed, grabbed Mathias by the chin, threatening to rip out his lower jaw.

_ "It's an order of mother, and as such, it is absolute." she said in a more threatening tone. "For this first time, I will close my eyes to your insolence. But next time, I will make you wish you were born without a tongue ... now get out of here. And I warn you: if you try anything, mother gave us permission to cut off your feet."

Cut off the feet?! Mathias shuddered in horror at the thought of it. The idea of escaping again hadn't even crossed his mind anyway, knowing the fiasco of the first time.

He was escorted out of his cell, surrounded by the three Dimitrescu daughters who kept an eye on him constantly. As he walked through the corridors of the cells, Mathias again noticed the zombies standing there, waiting and watching him go by.

_ "Don't just sit there and do nothing." Daniela said to them, still so brutal. "Clean up this mess."

Once out of the prison, and having again passed the pantry, then the large living room, Mathias was taken to the next room, which turned out to be probably the dining room, judging by the large and magnificent rectangular table in carved wood and draped with a white tablecloth.

A candlestick of six lighted candles had been placed in the center of the table. Two porcelain plates were set, along with forks, knives and spoons, all beautifully crafted and made of silver, and crystal glasses. The small fireplace in the corner let a few logs burn, adding some warmth to the room. Through the two large windows looking out, Mathias could see the snowflakes falling by the hundreds and hear the wind whistling against the glass.

A very nice table, Mathias might have thought if he was not in this current situation. He looked at himself briefly, dressed in his black t-shirt, jeans pants, boots and black mittens. Not quite dressed for a dinner party in such a wealthy place, he told himself, but after all, what does it matter.

The three girls brought him right to the table and Bela held him tight by the arm.

_ "Stay up here and wait for our mother to arrive. If you move or sit down without her permission ..."

She didn't even need to finish her sentence, Mathias guessing what would happen to him if he did. He didn't say anything, but nodded softly to show he understand. She then released her grip and stepped back to wait, still watching him closely. Anyway, Mathias saw that they had not even chained him, leaving him free to move. It proved that they were completely confident that he couldn't escape them, and they were not wrong.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the expression on Daniela's face, who was smiling at him with all her white teeth and fiddling with her sickle in her hand, as if it were itching to use it. She wasn't speaking, but her expression was more expressive than words. Go ahead, try to escape. Make me this pleasure. She clearly meant that. But Mathias didn't do anything, clearing his mind and keeping his composure as much as possible, praying that it wasn't the last night he spent in this world.

After several minutes of waiting that seemed to last forever, the double doors opened, briefly letting in a small draft of cold air, and showing that behind was a sort of small courtyard. Lady Dimitrescu made her entrance, still very elegant, but having to lean forward a little to be able to pass the door. Seeing this, Mathias suspected that this castle had not been entirely built to her measure, and that she had not always been so tall.

When their mother arrived, the three daughters greeted her with distinction, with reverence, like real well-educated little noble ladies, which contrasted greatly with their bloodthirsty behavior. Mathias, seeing them do it, and fearing to appear rude and to trigger their anger, also chooses to make a slight and timid curtsy to the countess, although he has not been instructed to do so. Seeing him do it, Lady Dimitrescu gave an amused little laugh.

_ "Oh, and well educated as I see it." she commented with a smirk.

The three girls laughed softly together. Mathias remained without doing anything, still praying not to do anything stupid which could give them the pretext of harming him.

_ "Leave us, daughters." asked the countess, walking to her chair which was at the end of the table.

_ "Yes, mother." the three girls answered in unison, and immediately walked out of the dining room back to the large living room, closing the doors behind them. Mathias, now alone with the mistress of the castle, remained where he stood, without moving, and waiting in a heavy silence to be told what he could do.

Lady Dimitrescu remained beside her chair without sitting down, and looked at Mathias.

_ "Well ... I'm waiting." she said with some authority.

At first confused, Mathias finally understood what she expected from him. With her permission, he was able to come up to her chair and pull her back, allowing the countess to sit down. This is what she expected of him for this first gesture: to behave with gallantry and to make the lady sit down first. Once that was done, Mathias thought he could go and sit down in his turn, but Dimitrescu's firm hand stopped him by grabbing his arm, making him wince a little in pain because she was so strong. By meeting his gaze, she then made him understand his next order, pointing to her glass, empty, as well as the bottle of fine wine nearby. Seriously? thought Mathias, but who decided to obey, to stay alive. He took the bottle and filled Lady Dimitrescu's glass, who watched him do it in silence, but showing a smirk.

_ "Well educated, although there is still some progress to be made." she said bluntly. "Now sit down."

Heart pounding but managing to keep his composure, Mathias obeyed and went to sit in his chair, which was to the right of the countess. Obviously, she wanted to keep him close to her in case he tried anything. Lady Dimitrescu then lit a cigarette and began to blow the first puff, comfortably installed on her chair and waiting for the first course to be brought by the servants. Mathias sat down very timidly, the empty plate and the cutlery under his eyes, and dared not say or move, looking around. He then noticed that Lady Dimitrescu was watching him silently, and when he met her gaze, she still showed him that same dark smile.

What could she be thinking when she looked at me? Mathias wondered, without knowing if she wanted to kill him, to scare him or if she had more ... sensual desires. But what am I thinking, he thought next, trying to stay rational.

_ "You can drink if you want. You have my permission." said the countess, mentioning the bottle of wine. Even if he never drank alcohol, not liking the taste, Mathias decided to do it, fearing to upset her. He poured a small amount into his glass. The liquid was dark red and appeared to be very fluid. Mathias examined the wine a bit, then, just to look good, decided to take a sip. Immediately he winced, sensing the strength of this wine, but also, he felt a rather strange aftertaste mingling with that of the grape.

_ "Sangis Verginis ..." said Lady Dimitrescu "... that's the name I gave it. A wine of my own creation, made from the best bunches of grapes from my personal vines, mixed with blood of young female virgins. "

Mathias froze at these words, horrified, and immediately feeling the urge to spit out and vomit the wine he had just swallowed. Almost choking on the shock, he coughed heavily. Expecting to see him react thus, Lady Dimitrescu was not offended, on the contrary, sneered slightly with amusement.

Human blood ... I just drank human blood, crap! Mathias repeated this sentence to himself in his head, without succeeding in realizing it as much it was horrible. Lady Dimitrescu, meanwhile, took a sip of this bloody wine as easily as a human would drink water. Seeing that Mathias was still coughing a little and that a trickle of wine was running down from his mouth, she took a white towel and handed it to him.

_ "Wipe your mouth with that, before dropping drops of wine on my floor." she ordered calmly, but still with that hint of severity.

At first confused by this gesture which seemed almost kind on her part, Mathias took the napkin, thanking her with a shy nod of the head and wiped her mouth and chin. But once he was done, she noticed one last drop hanging from the young man's goatee. Mathias remained frozen, seeing her move her hand towards him, and with the tip of her gloved finger, gently take the drop of wine, brushing his chin and brought her finger to her mouth to suck the drop.

_ "No wastage in my castle." she said with that same teasing smile towards the young man, who although trying to remain calm in appearance, was constantly terrified that she would suddenly change her mind and decide to rip his head off to drink all of his blood as if he was a giant bottle.

_ "Ah finally. Here is dinner." declared the countess then, turning her gaze towards the end of the dining room, where a double door opened, allowing servants to enter.