Something Wicked

Part 1: Compliance

"They would tell you of a maiden tricked into eating the pomegranate, not the woman who laughed and swallowed twelve seeds whole."
- Caroline Ruth, A Lie Called Rapere, A Lie Called Rex

October 1888
Budapest

Donning an ebony colombina mask, a young woman watched with thinly veiled anticipation as the carriage continued to race through the spreading darkness. Elyse Dormer was taking quite the risk, leaving the protection of her father's rented rooms in the city without his knowledge and against his previously made commands that she remain indoors, especially on a night such as this. But as the favorite child of a widowed Viscount, she had always struggled with taking "no" for an answer – especially when her best friend and confidant, Violet, Baroness Hays, had been so insistent on this evening's undertaking.

The Viscount maintained that Violet was the worst sort of influence for his youngest and prettiest daughter. The Baroness was reckless and manipulative, outspoken and rash, but Elyse loved her friend, despite her sometimes questionable character, and if following Violet meant adventure instead of absolute boredom, she'd trail behind her auburn haired companion to the gates of hell and back if it meant they could have some fun along the way.

Although if the Vilkova palace was truly the hell those superstitious gossipers in town insisted it was, then perhaps she could endure the supposed risk of eternal damnation. From what she could make of the house as they made their way up the torch-lit drive, the structure rivaled many of the grand houses she had visited with her father in her twenty-one years of life. With spires that pierced a starlit sky, it was an imposing piece of architecture. But the golden light that shone from within was warm and beckoning from the frigid carriage she and Violet shared.

As they grew closer to the front steps of the palace, Elyse became more aware of the way her heart was pounding in her chest.

Oh, if only her father could see her now! He would undoubtedly faint at the thought of his Elle willingly entering the "home of the devil."

Elyse rolled her eyes at the juvenile thought, as if doing so would dispel the quiet anxiety that had settled in her gut when they had snuck out earlier in the evening.

Count Dracula was no devil, she mused silently. The rumors she had heard about the "wicked Count" during her visit to Budapest these last weeks were comical at best – that he was the king of vampires, that he preyed on innocent young women, ravishing their flesh before feasting on their blood and turning them into one of his soulless mistresses. She and Violet had laughed for hours at the absurd stories.

But it was when one of her maids insisted that the rumors had validity to them that Violet concocted the plan to discover the truth for themselves. They would sneak into the Count's private All Hallows Eve ball, and would prove once and for all that he was no demon from hell. There was, after all, no such thing as vampires.

The carriage finally pulled to a stop and both Elyse and Violet leaned forward to get a better look at the house as they waited for the footman to open the door.

"Isn't this exciting?" Violet asked as she adjusted the gold mask on her face. "A pity Charles refused to come with us. It's that infernal lover of his. I told him I wouldn't put up a fuss if he let me do as I pleased, but the man can still be so disagreeable at times. Perhaps I should have let him bring his whore... At least we wouldn't be completely starved of male company."

"Yes – I think I'd feel a little better about this excursion if the Baron were here. Who knows what sort of company we'll find in there."

"We don't need my husband's protection, if that's what you're insinuating," Violet insisted as the carriage door was opened. "Come – I know you want to know if this Count Dracula is truly as villainous as everyone says just as much as I do! He'll probably be a disappointment – some ordinary, foreign rake who has allowed his reputation to be blown completely out of proportion," and as soon as she was out of the carriage, she turned to wait for her friend. "And we've dealt with our share of rakes in the past."