The Worst Summer Ever

4: A Nasty Surprise

Nicholae and I were sitting in one of the empty rooms in the castle, talking about our favorite tv shows and books. It was strange how we had become friends so quickly; he was the last person I would have expected to become friends with.

"Hey look," Nicholae said, pointing to the window to a girl with long brown hair, a gray shirt, and skinny jeans running towards the mansion, "Who is that?"

"Its Ana!" I cried, remembering that she was the one who I had met in the village, "Can you cover for me?"

"Alright," Nicholae said, nodding. I ran through a secret passageway Nicholae had showed to me.

"Ana, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I just wanted to see if you weren't kidding when you said you live here," Ana said, looking worried, "I heard that demons inhabit this place."

"Is this your first time coming here?" I questioned.

"Yeah," Ana said, looking worried, "My grandmother came here for a prank once, and she never returned."

I sighed. This town was filled with superstitious farmers. "Did you walk over here?"

"Yep," Ana replied, "It was a long hike."

We both walked into the woods, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like no one had seen us.

"To answer your question, yes there are demons in that house," I explained, feeling stupid, "And my mom is forcing me to live there."

"I know I barely know you, but I'm going to help you escape," Ana said, "I fear for you. You will surely die if you stay there for long."

Before I could say anything else, a middle aged woman wearing a ugly plaid dress with woolen knee length socks walked towards us. "Ana! Of all the places I expected to find you, I did not expect it to be in the forest next to the Kinsberg mansion!" she yelled in plain English.

"Sorry mom," Ana said with a sigh, "I met a girl named Aurora who is new to this town."

Ana's mom smiled kindly at me. "I'm Mrs. Lorrel," she introduced herself.

"I'm Aurora," I stated, smiling back.

"Wait," Mrs.Lorrel said, "If she is here, then does that mean she lives in the Kinsberg castle?"

"Um yeah," Ana said, "But-"

"You must get away from her," Mrs. Lorrel said, grabbing Ana's arm, "She has already met the devil!"

"But-" Ana started.

"No buts!" Mrs.Lorrel yelled, and she dragged Ana away. I looked at the scene, wide eyed. It was ridiculous!

I tiptoed back to the mansion and went through the secret passageway I had come out of. The moment I stepped in the house, I saw Kaito and Nicholae standing on the other side.

"I'm so sorry, he caught me!" Nicholae cried.

"So you went out to talk to a friend?" Kaito snapped.

"Yeah, so?" I asked, "I did nothing wrong!"

"You broke the rules," Kaito said, grabbing my arm, "And now you are going to have to pay."

"Don't you think you are overreacting?" I asked.

"You will never learn if I let every little thing slide," Kaito hissed, "You and Nicholae broke the rules."

"Kaito, she's new here," Nicholae protested, "She didn't know there were going to be consequences."

"Shut up!" Kaito yelled, pushing Nicholae, and he fell against the wall, "You are going to the dungeon for a whole week!"

"No please, anything but that," Nicholae pleaded. Kaito snapped his fingers, and Felix and Daniel walked in and grabbed Nicholae.

"You are so doomed,"
Daniel said, flashing me an evil grin, and he and Felix managed to drag Nicholae out.

"Don't hurt him", I said, "The whole thing was my fault."

Kaito ignored me. "Your punishment", he said, and paused for effect, "Is death!"

I let out a scream and fell on my knees. Kaito burst out laughing. "I'm kidding!" he said "You should have seen the look on your face!"

"You are an ass!" I cried, feeling sick, like I was going to throw up. This guy was crazy.

"Your punishment is going to be to know that Nicholae is going to be tortured," Kaito said.

"You are sick!" I cried, "I can't believe you would do that to your own brother!"

I stretched out my arms for effect, and my left hand hit a broken edge, and a few drops of blood escaped from my palm.

"Ouch," I mumbled. I looked at Kaito, and he looked at me in shock.

"That actually..." he said, licking his lips, "...smells delicious."

I gasped.