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could in the short time it took to walk by. This hallway was darker than all of the rest and had strange portraits on the walls. The people in the portraits looked different than anyone she had ever seen. They were very pale, almost entirely white. There was also something strange about their mouths, although she could not see well enough to tell what it was. Strangest of all was that their eyes seemed to follow her. This hallway had A feeling of complete morbid doom. Szuzzanna did not really like the feeling that this hallway gave her, and decided right then that she would not think of this matter any further.

  When they finally reached the dining room, which seemed like it took an extra long time, there was an extravagant meal prepared. Szuzzanna had never seen so many things to eat at one time. She could not wait to get started. Valdarius escorted her to her seat and pulled out the chair for her, he then went to the far side of the table and seated himself. Val rang a little bell and two servers came from the kitchen area. They both came to Szuzzanna’s side of the table and prepared a plate for her. They then went to Valdarius and gave him a large goblet of deep red wine. Szuzzanna thought it to be strange that Val was not having anything to eat, so she asked, “Are you not eating with me sir?” His response was, “No, princess, I am just going to sit here and enjoy my drink while you take pleasure in your meal. You will understand soon enough.” Szuzzanna was very hungry and began to eat without another thought about it.

  When Szuzzanna was finished with her meal, Valdarius rang his bell, and the two servers appeared from the kitchen again. This time, one of them brought a goblet to Szuzzanna and pulled her chair out for her. Valdarius motioned to her to follow him, so she did. He went out of the dining room and down a short hallway into a majestic library. There were thousands of books on the shelves, all organized and neatly arranged. Szuzzanna sat with Val in front of a large fireplace. She unconsciously sipped at her wine. It tasted warm and slightly salty. This tasted like no wine she had ever had before, but she rather enjoyed the flavor. She began to gulp the wine as if she were dying of thirst. She felt a little trickle out of the corner of her mouth. Valdarius looked at her with a slight smirk, he held out his hand for her to take. Szuzzanna took his hand and stood up. Valdarius gazed into her eyes and Szuzzanna melted with adoration. Val leaned forward, never losing eye contact with her. He opened his lips slightly to reveal elongated fangs. Szuzzanna looked at the fangs and anticipated what was to happen next. Valdarius seductively licked the trickle of blood off of her lips and slowly, passionately kissed her on the neck. Szuzzanna felt a sharp prick and then total satisfaction.

  When Szuzzanna awoke, she was back in her room. She could not remember all the details of what happened the night before, but she knew that it was the most erotic night she had ever had. She went to her window to open the curtains and get some fresh air. When she pulled back the curtains, the sunshine was extremely intense and it hurt her eyes. She had to close the curtains in order to be comfortable. Whatever happened last night made her feel different. It was a magnificent feeling that could not be explained. Szuzzanna had never felt anything like it before. It felt as if she was more powerful and that nothing could harm her. She felt ten times stronger than she had felt the day before. Szuzzanna left her room and went out to see if she could find Valdarius. She was anxious to talk to him about last night. She went all over the castle, to the library, the dining room, the foyer, and many places that she had not seen the night before. Valdarius was nowhere to be found. Szuzzanna came to the forbidden hallway and stood at the entrance. She contemplated on whether or not to go down the hallway in search of Val, she was so excited to talk to him, she took a few steps down the hallway and got an eerie feeling. She decided that Val must have his reasons for not wanting her to go down there and who is she to go against his wishes. She turned around and thought, “If he is down there, he will come out when he is ready.”

  Szuzzanna took the opportunity to explore the rest of the castle. It was a magnificent place. It must have housed royalty in the days of kings, it was exquisite. She found many rooms that still had personal effects of the former occupants. The guardrooms still had all of the armor and swords that the soldiers must have carried to battle with them. The servants’ quarters still had the little amount of possessions that servants had in those days. She also found the royal quarters; it still contained all of the royal jewels and fine clothing of the queen. Szuzzanna spent much time in this room, trying on all of the beautiful dresses and gowns of the queen. She decided that when Val had offered her free roam of the castle, it meant that she could use whatever she wanted. That is exactly what she did. Szuzzanna chose several items from the wardrobe and most of the jewels and took them back to her room. She felt it was only fair since all she brought with her was the one gown she was wearing, and did not know how long her visit would last.

  It was getting later in the afternoon and Szuzzanna was beginning to get hungry. She made her way to the dining room, half expecting there to be a complete meal waiting for her. When there wasn’t, she decided that she would take a look in the kitchen to see what she could find. There were only a few fruits and vegetables to be found. She grabbed a juicy, red apple and headed outside. When she opened the door that led out from the kitchen, she had to shade her eyes so that she could proceed outside. She walked through a small vegetable garden and down a path that led to a barn. In the barn she discovered many animals that must have been there to be slaughtered for food. Szuzzanna walked around looking at all of the animals, and began to get a bizarre thirst. She walked over to a goat and started to reach out to stroke the goat on the head. The animal started screaming with fear and tried to break from its pen. Szuzzanna suddenly swooped down on the animal and broke its neck with one swift motion. The goat lay there lifeless and unmoving. Szuzzanna sat next to the goat and put its head in her lap. She began to stroke the animals’ head and then bent down and ripped out the goats neck with her mouth. She sat there and drank as much of the goats’ blood as she could consume. This made her feel revitalized and nourished, although she was sleepy now. Szuzzanna leaned back against the wall, with the animal still in her lap, and fell asleep.

  She was abruptly awakened by one of the servants, who must have come in to tend the animals. When he noticed her lying there with goat blood all down the front of her face and gown, he let out a shrill cry. Szuzzanna jumped up and started to apologize to the servant for what she had done. The servant was paralyzed with fear. He did not move or make a sound. He just stood there as if turned to stone. Finally, Szuzzanna ran past him and headed for the house. She had slept so long that it was now getting dark and the sun was disappearing behind the mountains. The fact that she had slept so long made Szuzzanna feel very uneasy about herself. What she had done to the goat made her stomach turn; yet she did not regret doing it. She felt even stronger than before and that made her smile slightly. As she got nearer to the house, she tried to think of what she would tell Valdarius. She was afraid that he would make her leave, and she did not want to go anywhere, she was very happy here. She knew that what she had done was unexplainable and that if Val wanted her to leave, there was nothing that she could say to change his mind.

  As Szuzzanna ran through the dining room towards the stairs to her room, she almost ran directly into Valdarius, who was coming to find her. He looked at her, with the blood all down the front of her. Val gave her a big smile and he grabbed her up in his arms and held her in a most affectionate hug. He said, “You are progressing perfectly, my sweet princess. It is just a matter of time before you have all of the knowledge that is required.” Szuzzanna did not understand, but she was not about to do anything to make him release his grip. It made her feel safe and welcome in his home, no matter what. To Szuzzanna’s disappointment, Valdarius let go of her, stood back and said, “Now princess, it is time that you go get yourself cleaned up and changed into one of the dresses that you have taken from the queen’s
quarters.” Szuzzanna wondered to herself, “How did he know of that if he was not around all day?” She decided not to ask and just went on up to her room to get cleaned up. As she was walking away, Valdarius called to her, “When you are ready, meet me on the front steps. You have much to learn tonight. I trust that you are well rested? Go now and don’t keep me waiting long.” At those words, Szuzzanna rushed to her room excited about the evening ahead.

  She hurriedly washed up and changed into one of the dresses. It was a gorgeous dress, although nothing like the gown she had been wearing. She put on matching shoes and gloves and proceeded to make her way downstairs. When she found Valdarius, he was standing near the fountain of the gargoyle at the bottom of the steps. He appeared to be deep in thought, and Szuzzanna was hesitant about disturbing him. Before she had time to think about it any longer, Valdarius turned towards her and said, “My dear sweet princess, tonight I am going to tell you some very strange things and you are going to see