The past eight days had been a series of trials and errors. Trials that, much to my surprise, I had managed to come out of relatively unscathed.

The first had been trying to make makeshift arrows out of wood. I had quickly learned greenwood wasn't sturdy enough, and dry wood was far too brittle. Instead, the best wood was that right underneath the bark. Save for a handful of cuts I suffered at the hands of my clumsiness; I had been successful.

Next had been foraging for food.

It hadn't been even remotely easy, hell, it had been downright impossible. The majority of my diet now consisted of edible roots, fish, and rabbits as flowering plants had begun to grow scarcer with every passing day.

Within this same vein, I had recalled that I was out of coin as I had given the whole of my funds to ruffians to save Bess and myself from an untimely demise. I had very little I could spare, but I had been intelligent enough to remember that father had once told Timothy that while rabbits were small, the rodents fetched a higher price if they were whole. I had collected several within the first few days, amassing a meager fortune- at least enough to buy a handful of supplies

The last most significant learning curve had been tending to my wounds. Thankfully the cuts I had received from my fight with the wolf hadn't gotten infected, but then I had been mindful of cleaning it regularly. I'd been brilliant enough to keep the scrap of my undershirt as my washcloth. Countless nights as I washed the cuts had I'd wanted nothing more than a salve to take away the ache and to speed up the healing process. I knew, however, that medicines like that that cost more than I could ever hope to come by.

Reading a map and deciphering which direction I was heading had gotten more manageable as I learned how to determine direction. I'd gotten lost more times than I could count on my fingers, but I had learned quickly via the stars and the sun or moon, about where I was.

I was now much closer to Dracula's castle, and the last vestibule of human civilization had been the small village of Hunedoara.

As I walked through the city gates, I had decided first and foremost to find the smithy- I desperately needed a new knife, and the spearhead I had taken from Lindenfeld was beginning to dull. If I intended to make the return journey, suffice to say I survived my encounter with the mysterious creature, I needed something sharper to make arrows and gut fish.

It hadn't taken much effort to locate the blacksmith's shop; I had only needed to follow the metallic clang of his hammer.

"Are you open?" I called out as I stopped just at the entrance, folding my arms tightly under my breasts in an attempt to reheat my frozen fingers.

A tall, grizzled man who looked more like a bear save for the lack of hair atop his head, straightened before marching over to me, still donning his heavy smith's apron- the smell of smoke and sweat wafting off of him like a foul perfume.

"Can I du ya for?" His accent was thick, and it took me longer than I'd have ever admitted understanding what he had said. Somehow I'd managed, and for a moment, I wondered if he was a Celt.

"I require a new knife and you to sharpen this," quickly I swung my satchel off my shoulder and produced the broadhead spear.

The smithy took the blade from me and appraised it thoughtfully, his massive paw reaching up to stroke his fiery red beard, "Can sharpen yer blade. Will cost ya 'bout five Danarius."

"And the knife?" I pressed, curious why he'd avoided the topic.

My answer came in the form of a deep roar of laughter. Immediately my brows knit, and I knew what he was going to say before he opened his fucking mouth.

"Oh, lassie, why do ya be needin' a knife? Sweet bonnie lass like ya dinnae need a knife. Donnae want ya ta cut your pretty 'ands now, do we?"

"How much?" I snapped, my voice was little more than a bark as my patients had begun to run thin.

"Too much fer ya," the smithy laughed again, clapping his hand on my shoulder as he had another fit of riotous laughter at my expense.

I had had enough- if the idiot wasn't going to sell me a knife, I'd make do with the spearhead as I had been. Fuck him. With a huff, I quickly snatched the dulling blade from his hand and turned to leave.

This got his attention.

"Where ya goin' lass?"

"To spend my money elsewhere!" I shouted, "You don't seem like you're open for business, so I'll find somewhere else to go waste my bloody coin."

From behind me, I heard him grumble something under his breath quickly before he responded, "Haud yer wheesht! Twenty fer a new knife. Gran' total o' twenty-five."

It was steep, but I needed the knife more than I needed anything else, "Fine, deal." I didn't want to part with the majority of my funds, especially if it meant paying this blighter, but I had to do all I could to survive.

Thankfully, I was out of his hair reasonably quick, and I moved onto my next location- the apothecary. On my way to Dracula's castle, I had collected a number of herbs, both edible and not, that I had no use for- save for the coin it would make me.

Finding the shop had proved a little more challenging, but when I had managed to locate it and stepped into the warm store, I sighed contently. I could have stood there in the aromatic warmth for eternity and be content.

"Welcome," a croaking voice commented from behind a counter, causing me to turn and nod my head politely at the little man who'd spoken.

"Good morrow," I replied in kind, coming to stand before, who I assumed, was the storekeeper.

Unlike the smithy, this man looked the part of a scholar with his wiry frame, round glasses pushed high up on his beaky nose and mess of wild graying hair. "How may I be of service?" He asked, a note of boredom lingering in his voice as I felt his eyes appraise my filthy attire.

Much like how I had with the smithy, I slung my satchel over my shoulder so I could untie several bushels of dried herbs from my pack. Gingerly, I placed them on the counter before me and looked up into the ill-tempered man's aged face. "How much can I get for these?"

A thick black eyebrow quirked as his eyes shifted to the items I'd placed on his counter. He hummed once and poked at the contents with a bony finger before sighing exasperatedly, "Ten Danarius for the two bushels of Belladona, six for the two Rosemary and four for the lavender." I looked down at the small bundles and tried to calculate the total price.

Twenty Danarius total, "Deal. What do you have for wounds?"

The older man quirked that same caterpillar-like brow at me and leaned forward, eyes immediately shifting to the garish red gashes across my neck and chest. I wanted to pull the collar of my cloak tighter around my throat as he scrutinized my wounds. "Can sell you a little thyme and give you back the lavender to make an antiseptic. For pain, you can buy a small bag of crushed yarrow- steep it in a mug of hot water and drink it down."

I thoughtfully began to gnaw at my bottom lip, forgetting my embarrassment for the time, wondering how much it would all cost me, "I don't have much coin." I reminded him, hoping that whatever I had left in my satchel, plus what he'd given me, was enough. The older man waved his wrinkling hand, dismissively, "We'll call it even for all the coin I gave ya."

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"Thank you," I mumbled under my breath, watching him turn away from me to collect a small brown pouch before he slid it and my other items across his counter. I quickly gathered them and put them into my satchel- if I had any luck, I'd be able to tend to my wounds before I entered Dracula's castle in search of Katherine.

With my transaction done, I readjusted the satchel on my back and left, this time heading for the town square, where I knew I'd be able to find a few things for one last meal.

As I walked, passing by people and little shops, I allowed myself a moment to stop before a shop window and longingly stare after a pair of fur-lined mitten. They were a deep ebony with golden embroidery adorning the backs in the shape of roses- I had always loved roses.

I didn't torment myself much longer, instead, heading into a nearby bakery to inquire if they had any old bread that I might be able to secure for cheap. The baker, a portly woman with a red button nose and a mess of golden hair braided neatly down her back, offered a loaf to me for a Danarius. I thanked her emphatically, although as I left, I wondered if she had done so because she assumed me a vagabond or she thought poorly of my filthy, dirty appearance.

It didn't matter, I reasoned, my journey's end was in sight, and I would be finding out the truth of Katherine's state of being soon enough. If I was lucky, I'd learn of her condition before sundown.

With the few coins I had left, I purchased as thick of a wedge of cheese as I could before setting off north for where the castle was rumored to sit and marked on my map.

I'll ashamedly admit that I wanted to turn back. I could stay in Hunedoara for a time, find an honest wage, and forget this whole mess, but I was already so close. If I stopped now, my journey would have been for naught, and others would come in my stead. I couldn't allow myself to be so easily deterred or anyone else to die- especially for my sake. I refused to be as selfish as Katherine.

I did not stop my trek until I reached a river that offered me fresh water. I was mindful not to fill my stomach, remembering the last time I had done so and the terrible stomach pains I had felt. I needed to be prepared for anything.

Carefully I perched myself on the bank and dipped one of my hands into the crystal clear water, bringing up a handful of the freezing liquid to my lips. Effortlessly, it floated over my tongue like a cloud, and I sighed.

As I brought another handful up to my mouth, I was halted when a white snowflake sailed through the air and landed on the tip of my nose. I shivered and then cast my eyes heavenward, watching a million more white flakes float lazily down to the earth.

I had continued to watch the snow fall from the sky for a bit, smiling when stray flakes clung to my long lashes. While the world around me blanketed in stark white, I knew that this would make my return journey much longer and much harder- I would need to scrape together enough coin to afford more winter-appropriate clothing if I didn't want to die from exposure.

As I allowed myself a moment of peace, I watched as a black cloud of crows noisily flew overhead in the direction I had been headed. The world had been quiet for a time, but as I listened intently, the furious cawing wasn't far off. If there had been one thing I'd learned about those noisy avians was that often where they landed for a time, rotting flesh was nearby.

Wiping my numb hand across the front of my tunic and adjusting my satchel again for the millionth time to sit more squarely across my back, I marched forward, following the path the blackbirds had taken.

It had taken me but a few feet to uncover what it was that they squawked about.

Before me stood a looming gray castle, its spires so tall they disappeared into the clouds, and I swear that they had pierced straight through heaven. At the base of the stairs, which lead up to the ominous monolith, bared by a pair of imposing giant doors, were bodies. Silently I counted, nine in total. Each body was in a different state of decay. The freshest was that of Katherine.

The pink dress that she had left in was no longer pink but stained with blood and other bodily fluids- I swallowed back the bitter taste of bile as it raised in my throat.

Wordlessly I moved over to stand before her and look up the length of her rotting corpse. Whatever had done this had been just as cruel as it had to the other eight. For at the base of her throat, a single deep gash ran the width of her neck.

As I appraised her, I recalled how I had hoped, briefly, that the girl had survived her encounter with the creature. I had known better, and I was still resolute in my thinking; she had deserved this. Whatever monstrosity remained within the towering castle walls had not wanted to be disturbed, and the impaled corpses painted an unequivocal warning.

'Travelers beware. Death to any. Abandon all hope.'

"Who are you?"

I had been so intent on my examination that when the deep gravel of a man's voice demanded to know who I was from behind, it has caused me to yelped and spin around quickly on my heels. I suddenly felt like a child caught in the act of doing something naughty. What was I so ashamed of? I wasn't doing anything wrong!

I shook my head once to remind myself I had done absolutely nothing wrong and instead to ponder how the stranger had managed to sneak up on me so silently.

I swallowed hard, squaring my shoulders and trying to hide the fact that he had startled me, although I knew he had heard me cry out. His expression was unreadable, save for the way his brows remained tightly knitted in a disapproving scowl.

"Who are you?" He repeated, a note of annoyance clinging to the last letter of his question.

"I could ask you the same thing!" I barked back, puffing out my chest in a mock gesture of strength, "Who are you?"

The tall golden-haired man huffed, seemingly uninterested or disappointed in my response, "Why are you here?"

I held my tongue, considering how next I should answer. However, my mouth moved much faster than my brain, "Why are you here too!?"

My comment had been enough to finally elicit emotion to spread across the man's symmetrical, handsome face. "Answer my questions! I grow tired of your childish responses."

I flinched and raised my hands submissively; I had no choice but to answer him. "I'm a simple village girl here to find out the condition of one of the bodies here. That's all."

The soured expression relaxed on my new acquaintances' features as he crossed his long arms over his broad chest, "Then I assume you are here to also uncover the truth about the creature who lives here?"

"I won't lie and say I'm not curious, but no, that was never my mission. Why?"

This caused him to quirk a slender brow, perhaps quizzically "Because all the corpses that surround you allowed curiosity to get the better of them. Why should I think you're any different?"

This time it was my face that twisted into a mask of annoyance- how dare he accuse me of lying! "What purpose would there be for me to lie?"

"You could be attempting to forestall your death, like that one," he gestured towards Katherine. "I presume you know her."

I did not respond immediately, "And if I were to say yes, what then? Would the creature of this castle slit my throat and impale me on a stake too?"

The golden-haired stranger snorted, "Perhaps."

"Then why does it not kill you? Surely if this monster has no desire to be disturbed, your presence would not be tolerated either."

The stranger nodded with a chuckle- I failed to see what was so amusing, "It wouldn't, save for the fact that I am the legendary monster holed up in Dracula's moving castle."

I involuntarily sucked in a deep breath, the frigid air causing my lungs to burn- was he truly the creature? How could he be?

"Surprised?" He questioned, finally moving to stand before me, immediately making me feel the size of a mouse as he loomed over me easily.

Now that he was close, I could see the truth, and I understood why the village leader had called him a 'creature.' He was a vampire.

Weakly I swallowed the lump of fear that had begun to choke me and shook my head slowly, forcing my brows to drop in defiance, " I was expecting to find something more akin to Dracula's horde- demons from hell and all that, not a man."

"Who's to say I am a man? I've already killed a handful of your kind. Does that not immediately qualify me as a beast in your kind's eyes?"

He was testing me, "I wouldn't be alive if you were a monster, would it? If memory serves, the night creatures kill indiscriminately, rather than have conversations. Yet here I am, still sucking air."

Immediately I knew he didn't like my answer, and I could see this as I stared up into his liquid amber eyes as they grew stormy.

"You shouldn't be here- consider this my last mortal courtesy: leave before I change my mind and kill you like I have the others of your filthy race."

With a snarl and a stamp of my foot, I snapped back my response. "No!"

I watched as a muscle in the stranger's jaw ticked. Just as he opened his mouth to reply, I stepped back and expounded, "I'm not here to bother you or engage in conversation or convince you you're not a monster! I'm simply here for that" I jerked my thumb towards the rotting remains of Katherine, "bitch! Once I have her, you'll never see me again, and you can continue to be the terrible beasty, holed up in his damned castle."

A lengthy pause stretched between us as we stood out in the quietly falling snow. I was expecting to die right there on the spot for my defiance. I had absolutely no right to challenge him, but I hadn't left home to trek through hell and high-water, just to return without Katherine's corpse.

I continued to glare up into his stormy amber eyes as seconds ticked by into what felt like hours. I tried to watch and see if the tempest in the stranger's eyes grew darker, but his expression simply remained one of cold indifference.

This waiting was making me sick.

Finally, he sighed and walked past me, "You are by far one of the most foolish or brave mortals I've encountered in some time, but if you insist, allow us to continue this conversation indoors. If I wished to kill you via exposure, I'd simply leave you shackled to your friend."

I could have quipped that the village leader's daughter was no friend of mine, but all I could do was remain rooted in place, staring after the beautiful stranger, my mouth hanging open in shock.

It took the man to look over his broad shoulder to see if I had fallen in tow before I regained my composure and jogged after him, eyes immediately widening as the doors groaned open on aging hinges.

Briefly, I cast one last look out towards the garden of corpses and wondered if, within the hour, I'd be among their grim company.