"What possessed you to come up this mountain? No villager dares comes up this way. Are you utterly stupid?" The dark figure protested, swaying under the black cloth. The figure had a feminine sound under her thick Transylvanian accent. I myself was offended by her remark. I stomped behind her through the garden. "Not particularly, but when one must flee from a village she isn't accustomed to, she must do as seen necessary. That doesn't seem out of stupidity." She scoffed leading me up a labyrinth of a garden. "You? What must you flee from?" The figure steps clicked on the cobble stair steps. When I initially arrived on top of this mountain, I thought the shadow hiding the moon was a part of the rock, however, come to my realization. It was a castle. Nothing was lit in any window. Some entrances were boarded up.

  "What gives you the right to know why? You utterly know nothing about me however you judge under pretenses." The figure's hand pushed open a door not boarded up as it led to something that resembled a kitchen. A few pots and pans arrayed with cobwebs in the corner of the room, and a bowl of rotted fruit near the door.

  "I have the right because if you do not give me a good enough reason why you are fleeing, I will shove you on the first horse back where ever the hell you came from." The figure removed the black cloak revealing a dark-haired woman. Her skin wasn't pale, it was translucent. As though I can see through this woman. Her veins were dark purple on her neck to her hands. Her arms were covered in black sleeves leading into a flowy dress coming to her feet. A large tear as though she caught her dress on sheers came from her hip bone to her foot. It exposed her bare luminous thigh. I had to advert my gaze pairing my eyes to hers.

  "A marriage."

  "Ha! A marriage! What, he's not a lord? Not good-looking enough for your high standards?" She moved two fingers in front of my face motioning me to follow her. I tip-toed behind her counting each time her dress swayed across the floor. I felt like I needed to argue with this woman but if realized if I did I would be shipped back to Media? indefinitely. "Not in the slightest. Arthur Thomas is a child in an almost 30-year-old man. He's pathetic."

  "Pathetic? Really? Explain yourself...what do you call yourself?" This statuesque woman led me into what looked to be her study. It was as lavish as the Thomas mansion, but it wasn't gaudy. It was as though she created history in these walls. Each window was covered in red silk fabric. I could see now why I could not see any light coming from the castle. Brown wood carvings up the fireplace, gold candle holders. Everything was gold and the shade of crimson.

  "Bella...Bella Donna."

  "Bella Donna?...Hm..Tu parli italiano?"

  "Sì, mia madre era italiana."

  "You forgot one distinctive question, Bella. Why do you not want to marry this 'man-child'?" She turned around facing me fully getting a look at her. She laid herself down on a dark red velvet lounge chair prompting her bare feet on the upholstery. Staring at her was like I was looking at the moon. Her face was bright with dark curves along her temple and cheekbones. Her eyes pierced into me while the log cracked behind us in the fire. "He isn't my intellectual adversary. He supposes that women should be seen and not heard. He wants a version of his mother."

  "Doesn't all men?" She joked pivoting her torso around extending her hand out for a large diamond-shaped vase full of a red liquid. Her fingertips grazed the glass not grasping it. I didn't want her to overextend herself. I held the heavy vase once she grasped the gold chalice beside it. My hand began to tilt watching the thick red pour into the cup. She held two fingers up to stop me. I fixed my hand to place the vase down. "Very good. So what I'm hearing is you ran away to seek refuge? Where do you intend to run off to?" Her lips pursed the rim seeing the only colour on this woman was her drink.

  "I do not know frankly. Anywhere that will leave me in peace."

  "Is that all you desire? Peace? What would that detail Ms. Bella Donna?" Her long pale nail circled the rim of her gold chalice. I was on trial. I stood before this benevolent dark woman watching every move I made. Now, she was watching my every word. It was my fate on the line. "I want to live...somewhat alone in the middle of nowhere. To read to myself. No men, no societal pressure to befall upon me."

  "Oh? Well if that's the case, do you think see societal pressure here? Any men? I don't see any." She adjusted her posture, crossing her colourless legs at her knees. Her hand let go of her chalice on the same table beside her chair that was deemed as a throne in my eyes.

  "What are you proposing my lady?" I raised an eyebrow as I placed my hands on either side of my dry hips. My hair was still damp but my gown was dry.

  "My lady? Hm-...I do enjoy that. I am proposing you live here in my castle. I suppose you can hide from this marriage you are running from. You can be my servant." She stood up from her chair meeting my gaze. Her eyes forcefully pierced into me. As if she was ripping me to shreds in her mind, her smirk was genuine but the dark of her castle matched her personality for the time being. "I-...do not wish to impose that burden upon you, my Lady." My confidence dwindled hiding my hands away behind my back. My eyes darted to the floor finally realizing this shadow of a woman was wearing tiny black heels underneath her tethered dress. Her nails dug under the dip of my jaw pulling me up to meet her gaze. The look on her face wasn't sinister, it was reassuring. "Ever since I found you, you have already became a burden. However, I feel sympathetic to your issue. So I insist. Stay with me, Bella."

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Was that supposed to be an insult? To take pity on me?

  I suppose it will be better than going back. I pray it's better. "Thank you kindly, my lady. Lady?" I had the realization I will stay with this some will say a countess? A Lady? Without knowing her name. "Catherine. Catherine Valeria. You are instructed to call me Lady Valeria."

  "Yes, Lady Valeria." Her nails let go of my chin, turning her back to me. Swaying the hem of her dress around the wood floor.

  "Good start. If you haven't realized I...have some...medical needs you must attend to." Catherine's back was still in my vision as she pressed her index finger into her thumb.

  "Yes my lady, such as?" My hands had a mind of their own, intertwining my fingers in the clasp holding my hair up. The thickness of my hair broke free from the clip falling every way it could go. On to my shoulders, my back and large strands fell into my line of vision. I pushed the strands away from my face.

  "I have um...a deficiency you call it now. Back when I was diagnosed, it was called the disease of the blood. I cannot be exposed to sunlight. I break in burns. I need this medicine every day. I grow irritable and weak if not given my dose a day."

  "Oh-..okay."

  "And since I have this deficiency, my other senses are heightened. With that, my sense of smell is bothered by the smell of you. I will show you to your room and the tub. I cannot have you walking around my castle smelling that way." Catherine's body turned back to me showing a weirdly cunning smile. Her shoulder brushed mine, making me take a step back. "I beg your pardon? What smell prey tell do you detect?" I was offended by that remark. Surely, I may smell like a burlap sack but that doesn't mean to demean me. Catherine laughed under her breath, twisting her head back to me. "The smell of outside Bella. I could break out in spots just from the grain field you were in."

  How in the hell did she know where I was? How did she know I was in a grain field?

  "Very well, I suppose if it's due to your medical condition. Then I do what is needed."

  "Good, come. Follow me."

  ?───? ??? ?───?

  The castle was larger than I initially thought. We left her study in a dark hall coated in wood. Wood carvings of cherubs followed our every move. It was as though a ravaged animal tore through this hallway, large scratches into the little clusters of cherubs torn into the wood. Some missing their heads. We turned right from the hallway into the foyer. The entrance to the castle. A large staircase stood in the middle of the foyer. Red carpet encased these steps snugly, and the railing was coated in gold paint. Carvings of two lions are protected on each end of the staircase.

  "You just left my study which is to the right of the stairs. On the left is the dining room. Behind the stairs is the kitchen. You shall be introduced to Vadoma soon. She's a good cook but a good housekeeper would be a lie." Catherine took a step up the stairs running her index along the railing to a thin layer of dust. "You will try to keep your belongings in your room." I nodded behind her. She continued her stride up the stairs holding stern onto the railing. "And you will stay out of my room! And the west wing of the castle."

  "What's in the west wing-"

  "Nothing for you!" She barked back echoing in the silence. Her eyes shot red through me. I halted leaning back for her hair not to hit my face. "No matter..." She turned her head back calming her senses. "Nothing of interest to you. I mind my privacy. If you disturb my privacy, I disturb you. You understand yes?"

  "Yes, Lady Valeria." I met her at the top of the stairs leading me to the left of the second floor. "Very well...as long as we have a mutual understanding then we will have no issues." At the top of the stairs was a dead bouquet of roses in a china pot. Her hand clutched on my wrist dragging me to the left of the second floor. Her other hand pushed open a door. A tub, a toilet and a wash bucket stood. Her grip tightened as she moved to the next door at the end of the hall. The door flew open to a dreary room painted black. An obscure wooden canopy bed sat solely in the room. Crimson cloth draped over the canopy covering the top. The headboard was carved in intricate flowers, sown in red fabric in the middle. A layer of dust covered the maroon counterpane, exposing the white linens. A large painting hung from the left of the room, it was rotted flowers and fruit in a cornucopia. The entire castle was full of eery depictions of the world. It must be the life of a shut-in. To see the world in rot and decay.

  "The room is to your liking? Has to be. This is your only option unless you want to go back to the rat-infested shed?" Rat infested!?!

  "N-no...this is fine! Thank you, my lady." My basket rubbed the skin of my forearm, the straw sunk into the foot of the bed. Lady Valeria leaned her arm in the doorframe, her eyes fixated at my feet raising her focus to my face.

  "Whatever. You must bathe. I cannot withstand any longer. I will leave you for the duration of the night. I sleep during the day. I mustn't be disturbed, is that understood?" Her long nails dragged across the beam of the door frame, leaving behind 4 faint lines into the wood. It was as if Lady Catherine Valeria was the same colour everywhere. Bone, her skin was the same colour as any human bone. Or stone even. It would match her demeanour naturally. Stone cold to new guests but, by galivanting through my new home known as her castle, I have wondered frankly how many guests she has had in years. Perhaps, this is the reason she's less formidable. Not the best welcoming or hospitable in the slightest.

  ?───? ??? ?───?

  The bathroom was something I would read about in futuristic novels. I thought to myself maybe someone was here. A plumber or someone in that field. I didn't have to fetch water to boil for my bath, nor lay linen down so I may not burn my rump. On further inspection, I realized they had little handles. One was cold water, while the other ran scolding hot. I knelt on my knees observing this phenomenon.

  "Are you going to persist to play with the tabs or is this your first sight or water?" Catherine rested her body in the same motion in the bathroom doorframe. Catherine changed her clothes into a merlot silk robe. The fabric tied close to her waist not to allow any bit of her body to be shown, a peak of her thigh over the thresh hold was my only glimpse. "No...I just have never seen running water in a home before." I arose to my feet, moving the cotton of my undergown off my shoulders. The mirror beside the tub gave me the indication that Lady Valeria was growing tired of my games. She presented a sly smile while her eyes examined my unclothed skin as she scoffed in retaliation.

  "It's the turn of the century...so I've heard. We must stay up with the times. Go on, the noise of the water running bugs my sleep. Goodnight Bella."

  "Goodnight my lady."