The Lost Princess

Chapter Nine

Unknown location, Wallachia, 1462

Everything was dark.

And then, she remembered.

When her eyes opened again she saw a roof made of fabric. Various ornaments hung from the wooden structure above her, richly coloured with feathers and jewels that sparkled in the candlelight.

She blinked her eyes slowly, the light hurting her sensitive eyes. She squinted as she brought her hand to her face and noticed the sleeve of her dress was ripped.

Like a tidal wave, the events of all that happened flooded her mind. The letter warning her to leave her home. Sending her sons away to safety. Vlad appearing. Drinking her blood. Her desperate leap from the Castle wall.

She jumped up frantically from where she had been lying on the small makeshift bed. She looked down at her dress and noticed the ruined state it was in. Her corset still felt damp under the layers. She raised a hand and brought it to the back of her head where she had felt the impact of the rocks for a mere second. She noticed no pain, no fracture, no blood.

Where was she? Was she dead? It's not possible she could have survived a fall from so high. What was the creature who wore her husband's face? She brought her fingertips to her neck. She felt the unmistakeable wound the fangs had made when they entered and she panted. It had really happened, she realised in sudden fear.

She must have looked crazed when the man who entered the tent saw her, for he took a step back quickly in fear.

"No!" she shouted in desperation. He stood still on the spot. "Where am I? What happened?"

She took in his dark features and attire and assumed he was a Gypsy. She glanced at the decorations again and assumed she must be in one of their camps. Nothing made sense. The man was quiet.

Despairingly, she advanced towards him quickly and grabbed his arm. He shouted. She felt the wetness on her fingers and released him. She lifted her hand into the light and saw blood. The scent overpowered her. 'Why does it smell so... good?' she thought.

She looked down at the man in horror who was now clutching his arm that was bleeding. She saw the deep scratch marks from her nails. 'Did I do that?' she thought. She was in a daze as he jumped up quickly and lunged at her, hitting her across the face.

All was a blur as he continued to attack her. She saw the blade come up and swing at her neck. She reacted in an instant, taking his injured arm in her firm grip, and the next thing she knew she had bitten into his neck. The man cried out but grew weak quickly against her immediately. She felt his blood in her mouth, the taste sending her in a frenzy as she greedily drank.

Ilona heard a scream behind her. A blow came to her head from a hard object. She dropped the man from her grip and turned in instinct, grabbing the attacker with ease and bringing their neck to her mouth in one motion. The hot blood rushed into her and it was ecstasy. She finished and dropped her attacker to the floor. The two bodies lay heaped together.

Like awakening from a trance, her surroundings suddenly become clearer. A man and woman lay at her feet, now dead. Their wide eyes were empty and lifeless. She brought her hands to her face in shock, sinking to the floor in front of them.

"I...I didn't mean to... what has happened to me?! What have I become?!" she cried out loud to no one.

She saw the group of Gypsies enter the tent but she dared not move, too afraid of what could happen. She watched their terrified faces as they looked at her and the two bodies.

She did nothing as they surrounded her, tying her hands in front of her tightly with thick rope. They made her stand and she obeyed, marching her out of the tent. She saw the night-sky, the campfire and the others watching curiously as she was led away and into another tent to their leader. He listened to the account of what had happened and was silent for a moment as he debated her fate.

"We cannot kill her," he decided after a minute. The group protested.

"When we found the Princess washed up on the river we thought we were doing something good, but we have only brought darkness upon our people!" she heard one of them yell. The leader silenced him with a wave of his hand.

"We don't know what kind of demon she has become. Besides if we end her, Prince Dracula will indeed find us and kill us all in the most horrid ways" He paused for a moment, looking at her sadly. "She did not ask for this fate."

"Then what do we do with her? We can't let her go she's too dangerous!" One of the men cried and the others shouted in agreement.

"No, indeed not," he agreed. "There is another way. But once it does we must never speak of it again..."

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The men surrounded her as she walked, leading her by the binds that trapped her hands. They were armed heavily, their weapons at their ready incase she meant to escape. She could tell they were deep into the Carpathian mountains by now, having been walking for what felt like hours, but she had no idea where exactly.

Was she far from her home at Poenari? She lowered her head. It didn't matter. She was being marched to her death. The thought should have terrified her but she felt unusually calm.

She thought of her sons. 'Please, let them be safe,' she prayed. She scoffed to herself suddenly. Where was her God now? Surely monsters such as her had no right to seek prayer. She was forsaken.

They reached a rock wall and came to a halt. She had to crane her neck to see its top which was far above the trees. Never before had she been so deep into the forests of her land and she noticed the beauty of it all, wishing she had spent more time beyond the castle walls.

She watched as the leader began speaking in a language she didn't understand. She realised quickly it was an incantation, some sort of spell.

At his command, the outline of a door appeared in the moonlight. She was bewildered. With two hands he pushed the heavy stone out of its place and an opening was revealed. The leader entered and she felt someone push her from behind, urging her to go on. She followed inside the cave.

In the darkness, her eyes adjusted to her surroundings quickly. It was a large opening with a high stone roof. The walls had many strange symbols that she didn't recognise. In the middle of the room lay a sarcophagus made of white stone. She realised then that this was her to be her tomb.

They picked her up and she fought, managing to knock a few down with her strength. But with her hands tied they overpowered her, placing her roughly in the box.

"No, please!" she cried to the group as they held her down.

A long sword was placed on her neck and she had no option but to admit defeat, sinking back into the stone that mirrored the same hard coldness as her own body.

The leader appeared over her suddenly, his arm outstretched towards her. She heard him speak, loud and clear, using the same strange language as before. His voice echoed in the cave and drowned out her pleading. At his words she felt weak suddenly, her arms unable to move.

She fell back onto the stone bed, her eyes unwillingly closing. She saw the heavy lid of the stone being placed over her as she fell soundlessly into nothing.