The Unholy Night

Chapter III

"Holy water cannot help you now"

- Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine

A brief warning from Mary, your humble narrator: Yeah, chances are you won't like me by the end of this chapter.

Of course, Jonathan went simply mad upon his discovery that he was a prisoner, running up and down stares, shaking windows and jimmying door handles, until he got to the point of pure insanity and helplessness where he screamed out the window, "I AM A PRISONER!" as loud as he possibly could. 

It was not becoming of him, he knew that, so he took a deep breath and began to make plans. He couldn't trust the Count with this, obviously, as the Count knew full well he was captive, and was, in fact, his captor. He had some curious motive, no doubt. 

He would need to gather more information before making a proper plan, so his idea for now was to be quiet, be observant, and keep his secrets close. He was either being deceived by his own paranoia, or in great danger, and it would take some time to decipher which. 

There came a great slamming of the door from floors below, meaning that the Count had indeed returned. 

*

"No," Bess protested. "We're going to get caught at some point if we keep going with this, and spending the whole day in secret passages is getting old."

"We have to know what's going on!" Addy argued. "Would you rather stay in the dark about whatever is happening here?"

"I'm with Addy," I said. "Although I hope it doesn't go on for too much longer. I've never been so stiff in my life." 

"It's two against one, and you'll still be blamed for it if we get caught without you," Addy reminded her, crossing her arms. 

"Fine."

*

The Count didn't come to the library, so Jonathan walked to his rooms, only to find the Count making his bed. It only further evidenced his new theory that there were no servants in the castle at all. 

He had a sudden fright as he realized that the Count must've been the driver the night he'd come. If so, the Count had the ability to control wolves. 

A week ago, Jonathan would've scoffed at such a nonsense notion. But now, the impossible was seeming more and more vividly real, and it was becoming very clear indeed that something unnatural was happening in the castle, and it sent a shiver down Jonathan's spine. 

The pieces seemed to be slowly falling into place. Everyone on the coach and in Bistritz had seemed very afraid for him. The old woman had given him a crucifix.

Jonathan had felt some disgust about the crying originally, but he was quite glad that he had been given the crucifix. It made him feel safer in this far-off, strange place. 

The Count looked up, and noticed him. Jonathan took a deep breath, and set his mind to the task. He was going to learn all he could about the Count that he could.

*

Of course, we were all waiting in the library. Conversation was odd that night, reflective of Jonathan's plan (we wouldn't learn about that until later, but for the sake of continuity, I'm including this in the story - it's my story, I might spin a few details here and there). It was all about the history of Transylvania, and as they usually did, they stayed up talking late into the night.