Embrace of the Lycan - Chapter 12

Chapter 12
As the cart carrying Krisztina approached the castle, Tibor took some great delight in telling her that the Duke was due back that day, and that he would introduce her to him. He was obviously very pleased of his favoured position in the Duke’s household.

The guard moved her chest up into their apartment. She had hoped that she would have a room to herself, but it seemed that this would not be the case.

‘You must be on your best behaviour when you meet him,’ Tibor continued. ‘Remember Krisztina, your life now could be very pleasant. If you tow the line and play the dutiful wife, you will find that it is not as bad as you probably think.’

She did not respond other than to pour herself some of the wine that she saw on a table. This seemed to incense Tibor, and he flew at her, knocking the goblet from her hand.

‘I ask nothing of you but your fidelity, a son and some respect. Once you have produced me my heir, you can have your own apartment. Then you may drink yourself into oblivion, and rot in it for all I care.

He went to leave the room, but turned at the door.

‘Make sure you are presentable later – the Duke is due back any moment with a guest, and I will present you to him at dinner. I will send some women to assist you.’

Once he had gone, Krisztina went to her chest, and lifted out the dress that was in the chest. She unwrapped it carefully from the packaging and lifted it up. It was of a deep red Italian silk, and she had only ever worn it once before, at her grandmother’s funeral.

There was a slight knock at the door, and she laid her dress on the bed. She went to open it, but before she could a tall, very slender, blonde noble woman glided into the room. She was followed by a couple of maids who were carrying dresses.

‘You must be the Baroness Krisztina?’ She said this while looking her up and down in a haughty manner. Krisztina nodded, and was undecided if she should curtsey or not. ‘I am the Duke’s wife Eszter. Well… we had better get you ready to meet his Grace.’

The woman walked over to the bed and looked at the dress. She looked quite impressed. Her voice much gentler this time, she asked, ‘Is this Italian?’

‘Yes your Grace,’ Krisztina replied. ‘It was a 16th birthday gift from my grandmother.’

‘Hmmph. I wish I could still fit into clothes made when I was 16.’ Eszter placed the dress back on the bed and grabbed two from one of the waiting servants.

‘Your Italian dress is far too lovely for just dinner. You should save that for your wedding which I believe is to be held in two days time. You may have these two, but I think this cream one would suit you best.’

Eszter thrust a dress at her, and instructed her servants to deal with Krisztina’s ‘unruly curls’ before gliding out of the room. Krisztina was subjected to pain of unbearable levels as the two servants combed and teased her hair, and then dressed it into an elaborate design on the top of her head. Once in the dress, she admired herself in the polished metal mirror. She hardly recognised herself, but agreed that she finally felt like a Baroness. She could not help sighing at the thought that she would be happier as a barmaid, married to a blacksmith.

Back in the village, the word had gotten around about Krisztina’s fate. Understandably, the men’s feelings were running high. They all had high regard for Krisztina and also a deep rooted hatred of the noble classes. Some of the men were recent additions to the pack, being slaves plucked from the fields of neighbouring estates and converted into immortals. The fact that a noble could come in to their village and take one of their own infuriated them. They all petitioned Lucian to do something. In the end, he agreed to go ahead with Sabas once it was dark, and scout out the castle. Only then would he entertain the idea of a rescue mission.

Raze insisted on joining them but Lucian stopped him. ‘No my friend. Not this time. It is two more days until the moon is full and you have not been Lycan long enough to change at will should we need to.’ Leaving Raze behind feeling frustrated, Lucian and Sabas left the village at a jogging pace.

When they got close to the castle they ducked off the main track and crept into the undergrowth. Ever wary of scouts they made their way slowly to the back of the castle. Their Lycan abilities allowed them to scale the wall without too much difficulty. They wanted to avoid any confrontation, as leaving a trail of bodies was a sure way to alert the castle to intruders. Navigating between the roofs of the buildings within the castle walls, they finally came across what appeared to be a great hall. Light from many candles shone through the thick glass of the windows and lying in the eaves of the building, Lucian could just see in to the room. There was a large table with place settings for about 8 people. The nobles filed into the room led by the Duke. Lucian watched as he sat at the head of the table and the servants bustled around filling goblets while the remaining guests were seated. It was the last two guests that got his attention. One was the insidious Tibor, his greasy hair slicked down and a condescending look on his face. Accompanying him was Krisztina. Dressed in fine clothes she looked breathtaking and regret tugged at Lucian’s heart. She looked miserable but safe enough for now, which relieved him slightly. He was about to whisper to Sabas that it was time to move when something about the mannerisms of the guest immediately to the left of the Duke caught his eye. The guest had his back to Lucian, so he was unable to get a clear view. He was convinced that he knew this person but could not place where.

He continued to watch as the servants brought out the first course. This guest did not even touch his food, and kept council only with the Duke. In fact, the two of them ignored the food, more interested in their schemes. Half way through the first course, Tibor decided to stand and raise a toast to the Duke’s return. Everyone turned when he stood, and Lucian was able to get a profile view of the mystery guest.

‘Tanis!’ He hissed. His heart pounded in his chest and he rolled onto his back and looked at the stars. He looked back again to be sure, but now that he knew, there was no doubt. Tanis lifted his untouched goblet at the toast, along with everyone else, but neither him nor the Duke drank. Lucian guessed that the Duke had been turned. In the 6 months since he had decimated the Vampire population, they had obviously started to recover. Tanis would not have turned the Duke personally; he nought but was a lap dog of the elders. This meant that either Viktor survived or Markus has awoken. What were their objectives? He could only guess that they were trying to secure another stronghold in the area. Whatever their plans were, he had to get Krisztina out and then stop them.

He signalled Sabas and the two of them left the area as quickly and quietly as they had arrived. As they ran back to the village, Lucian explained to Sabas what he saw. Sabas wanted to turn around immediately and go back, but Lucian persuaded him that they would come back. In force.