VROLOK

by Nolene-Patricia Dougan

  “This is your chance to prove you are not.”

  Isabella paused for thought, “I will go and see him,” she relented.

  The next day they went to see Guy; there were several people there already. The doctor was there, Guy’s priest, Adriana and Natasha. The mother and daughter were sitting at Guy’s bedside. When Natasha saw Isabella her colour faded, she turned ghostly white and she moved into a corner of the room. Isabella scowled at her sister and then took her seat by her father’s bed.

  Isabella’s father wasn’t quite lucid. He looked up at his daughter and whispered. “Clara, have you come for me?”

  “It’s not Clara, it’s your….” Isabella could not bring herself to say daughter. “It’s Isabella.”

  “Isabella,” her father said, smiling at her. Isabella’s father had never smiled at her before and Isabella was not glad to see him smiling at her now. It was too late for that. She was disgusted.

  “You look so much like her, Isabella, so beautiful.” Guy took Isabella’s hand. Although her first impulse was to pull away, she resisted this impulse for the moment. Isabella felt very uneasy with him touching her, but he looked so pathetic that she continued to let him. Nicolae thought this was a good sign. Adriana, who was sitting on the other side of the bed, was trying desperately to stifle her sobs.

  “I have treated you unkindly….” Guy continued. “I am sorry. Please forgive me?” At this Isabella snapped back her hand.

  “Is that it?” Isabella began. “An insincere apology and then you ask my forgiveness. Is that really all you have to say to me? You thought I would forgive you if you just asked me. Why do you even want my forgiveness? Is it because you fear your own death? Is that why you want my forgiveness? Do you think you’ll be condemned if you leave this world without a clear conscience…condemned to hell? What is it, Guy? What is the real reason for your penitence?” Isabella then looked around the room, and then it struck her: she knew why her father was so eager for her forgiveness. “You are afraid you will not see my mother again, aren’t you?” Guy did not answer; he just stared at his daughter and the hatred he had created within her. “Forgive you? I am insulted that you asked me to.”

  “Child!” the priest cut in. “If you don’t forgive your father you not only condemn him, you also condemn yourself.” Isabella left her father’s bedside and went over to face the priest.

  “Do you think the threats of your religion frighten me? You may be right, I may be condemning myself. Even if I lose my soul, I will rest easy knowing that he is condemned with me.” The priest stepped back from Isabella. He was frightened by the young girl. Isabella turned and walked towards her sister. She leaned in close and whispered in Natasha’s ear, “You have no one to protect you from me now, so watch your back, sister.”

  At this Adriana cried out, “You are damned!”

  Isabella turned to face her stepmother. “Yes, I am damned. Everyone in this whole hellish family is damned.”

  Isabella left the room. Nicolae, who had witnessed everything, followed her, trying to conceal his own disgust at his wife’s actions.

  Adriana pressed her head down onto the bed beside her husband; she could not stand it anymore. She started violently sobbing. Guy turned towards his broken-hearted wife and rested his hand on her head. He whispered in a frail voice, “What have I done to her? I am the one who showed Isabella how to hate like that.”

  Isabella’s father died before the sun came up the next morning. The funeral was small and Isabella did not attend. Nicolae did.

  Isabella had told Katya a lie when she said on her wedding day that she did not go up to the castle. Isabella did go up to the castle and often. It was getting harder and harder for her to get up there. Nicolae was beginning to become a little overprotective because she was coming towards the end of her pregnancy.

  One afternoon she had managed to avoid her husband’s watchful eye and had sneaked up to the castle without detection. Isabella soon lost track of time and when she eventually left it was getting dark. She hurried down through the woods and when she was nearly home she heard a voice calling her name.

  “Bella!” Isabella’s heart started to pound. It was Nicolae. “What are you doing in the forest?” he asked her when he saw her. The wolf that Isabella had befriended on her first visit to the castle and which had always accompanied her when she went through the forest had slipped out of sight. Nicolae did not see him.

  “I just took a shortcut through the woods,” Isabella answered.

  “You know you should never go into the forest on your own,” Nicolae objected.

  Isabella sighed. “You’re getting as bad as Alexei,” she said to him. “I’m a grown woman and I can take care of myself!” she added, exasperated by her overprotective husband.

  Nicolae smiled at his wife. “I know you can, Bella. Let’s go home. There’s something I want to tell you.” When they got home, Nicolae began to relay the story to Isabella.

  “A few years before your grandfather died he started to tell me about the murders….” Nicolae went on to tell her about the man he was named after and how the villagers had covered up the murders for years.

  Isabella kept quiet, even though she thought it was all nonsense. She wanted to argue with him but held back her reproach, because she knew if she did he would start asking her questions about why she was so sure that the castle was totally safe. So Isabella kept silent all the time, trying to figure out how she was going to get to the castle from then on. She could not risk Nicolae catching her again. If he even suspected that she was up there he would be very disappointed in her.

  That was the one thing Isabella could hardly stand about her husband. He judged her. The two of them were very different people. When she did anything that annoyed him he would not get visibly angry with her. He would not shout, or reprimand her. He would just be that little bit colder towards her. He made her feel guilty and she couldn’t stand the disappointed looks he would give her. Nicolae knew that shouting at Isabella was pointless. It would just make her more determined and he wasn’t the sort of man who would constantly shout at his wife.

  If Nicolae found out that Isabella had been lying to him all those times when she said she was going to Katya’s, he would never trust her again. He would insist on going everywhere with her. Isabella loved her husband. She never wanted him to think badly of her. And like all wives who love their husbands, she thought that there were some things that he was better off not knowing. So therefore, when Isabella did anything that Nicolae would not approve of, she preferred to keep it from him. When she had not forgiven her father, Nicolae was so disappointed in her. He did not understand why Isabella could not forgive him. The pair in the end had resolved to not talk about it. They did not understand each others reaction to the events and they never would understand each other completely.

  Isabella lay in her bed that night thinking about how she could get up to the castle without her husband suspecting. She rolled over and looked at him; Nicolae was sleeping soundly beside her. Many a night Isabella had lain awake watching her husband sleep. He was such a deep sleeper. Then it occurred to her. She could go up at night while Nicolae was asleep and he would never know the difference.

  The following night she waited until her husband was asleep and then went up towards the castle. The wolf ran down to join her and walked with her the rest of the way. When she arrived she lighted a fire and read for hours. This pattern continued for weeks. She would return before Nicolae would wake up and then she would sleep late in the morning. She was quite heavily pregnant by this stage and Nicolae would let her sleep as long as she liked.

  About two weeks before her baby was due to be born she was up at the castle as usual. The wolf accompanied her most nights and this night was no exception. The wolf appeared to fall asleep at her feet. Isabella was tired herself and before long fell asleep as well. The moment Isabella was asleep the wolf rose and left the room, only to return in another form.

  After about
an hour, Isabella awoke. She opened her eyes she was startled to see a stranger sitting opposite her. The stranger was a young, very attractive man. He had thick black hair and dark, almost black eyes.

  Isabella jumped out of her seat. She was not the type to be frightened easily so her fleeting moment of panic passed as suddenly as it came and was replaced by curiosity. The man stood up and spoke in a different tongue, Wallachian, but this was one of the languages Isabella had taught herself, so she was able to understand him.

  “Please sit down. I did not mean to frighten you.”

  Not wanting to let him know that he had even slightly intimidated her, Isabella answered, “You didn’t. I was just surprised to see anyone here, that’s all.”

  The man curled up his mouth into a smile. “So was I,” he said. “This is my home. You are the one who is not supposed to be here.”

  “Your home. You’re a Dracul? I thought Vlad was the last of you.”

  “You have heard of my family.”

  “My grandfather fought in the Crusades. He was in Vlad Dracula’s army,” Isabella stated with a certain amount of pride.

  “Vlad was my…” he hesitated, “grandfather.”

  “Your grandfather. I thought Vlad’s only son was lost during the wars.”

  Dracula was used to people blindly accepting everything he said and not questioning him. This girl was different. She would not be fooled by his usual story.

  “He was found,” he said, sternly enough to silence her for a moment.

  She carried on in another vein of questioning. “Have you come back to the castle to stay?” Isabella asked.

  “For awhile.”

  “I suppose I am a trespasser here?”

  “I suppose you are.”

  “I come up here to read the books. I’m from the village below.”

  “You speak Wallachian very well, but I suspect it is not your native tongue?”

  “You are right. I am a Slovak. There is a settlement just at the bottom of the forest. I taught myself Wallachian.”

  “Using my books?”

  Isabella took exception to his condescending tone. “Well, you certainly weren’t using them,” she said.

  “You’re quite right,” Vlad smiled. “And I don’t see why you should stop using them. You are welcome here.”

  Isabella noticed a glint of light coming in through the window. “I have to go now.”

  The young prince stood, bowed his head and then escorted Isabella to the door.

  Isabella ran through the courtyard and as she did, Dracula called after her.

  “Will you be coming back?”

  Isabella turned, smiled and shouted back, “I might!”

  Isabella was not used to this sort of treatment. This man was different from any other man she had ever met in her life. He was a gentleman, a nobleman, a prince and he treated her like a lady. Isabella enjoyed this kind of treatment; she liked feeling superior. She was more than a little bit fascinated by him. He was handsome, but then again so was Nicolae, she kept reminding herself. He was arrogant and that was something you could never accuse Nicolae of being. To be his wife would mean travelling all over the world, not just reading about it in books. Isabella wondered to herself, if he had come along a year ago, would she still have married Nicolae?

  Isabella ran the rest of the way home. When she arrived, she watched and waited for her husband to awaken. Lying on their bed beside him she felt ashamed. Nicolae was just as attractive as Vlad and Isabella loved him, no one else. She would always love him —even longer than she could know—and she would never intentionally hurt him. Isabella knew that she could have never married anyone else, even if she had wanted to. She moved her body as close as she could to her husband. She didn’t want to let him go.

  Nicolae awoke, turned around to face his wife, kissed her on the forehead and then got up and left the room. Isabella lay on the bed alone and thought that just because she loved her husband did not mean she had to stop going up to the castle, and if she happened to see Vlad, how could she help it? Besides, what Nicolae did not know could not hurt him. Isabella turned over onto her side, and went to sleep with a fractious smile upon her face.

  On the other side of the village Natasha, Isabella’s sister, was talking to a man called Peter.

  “Did you follow her?” Natasha asked.

  “Yes,” Peter answered.

  “Where did she go?”

  “She went up to the castle.”

  “The castle. I wonder why she went up there…how long did she stay?”

  “I don’t know. As soon as I saw she was going up there I turned back.”

  “You turned back!?!”

  “I’m not going anywhere near that place. You’ve heard the rumours.”

  “You’re not scared, are you Peter? I wonder how long she has been going up there. I am sure Nicolae does not know.” Natasha paused. “Anyway, that gives me an idea,” she continued. “People go missing in the woods all the time and when they find them they are always dead. Why not Isabella? She shouldn’t be going up there anyway. It’s the perfect chance to get rid of her once and for all.”

  “You never told me how beautiful she is,” Peter interrupted.

  “She’s not beautiful,” Natasha answered vehemently. “She has a scar on her shoulder. You obviously did not see her too closely!” Natasha leaned her chin coquettishly on Peter’s chest and whispered, “I want her dead…you’ll kill her for me won’t you, Peter?”

  Peter smiled, ran his fingers through Natasha’s hair and answered, “I will.” Natasha kissed her lover and went to sleep. Natasha had so far neglected to mention her feelings for Nicolae to Peter. He’d find out soon enough.

  The next day Isabella went to see Katya. Katya was nursing her child.

  “It won’t be long till your baby is born,” Katya began the conversation.

  “Hmm.” Isabella wasn’t really paying much attention to what Katya was saying.

  “Just a couple of weeks to go, isn’t it?” Katya sighed when Isabella did not respond. “Are you even listening to me? You’ve hardly said two words since you came in!” Isabella still wasn’t listening. “What’s wrong with you Isabella? What are you thinking about?”

  “Oh, nothing important,” Isabella said. She looked quizzically at her friend and asked, “You don’t believe all this nonsense about Vampires, do you?”

  “Yes, I do, Isabella, and so should you!” Katya said gravely.

  “All right, all right, don’t shout at me,” retorted Isabella.

  “Isabella, promise me you won’t go up there. They say whatever it is comes from that castle.”

  Isabella tutted and did not answer her friend. She rose from her seat and walked towards the window to look out at the night. A white mist was pouring down from over the hills and smothering everything it touched. Isabella loved to watch the mist—it seemed beautiful to her.

  “Look at the mist, Katya. It looks as if it’s pouring down from the sky. I love nights like these. They are so beautiful, the mystery of these nights. I always wonder who goes out on nights like these. People who do not want to be seen, who want to keep their actions hidden, unsuitable romantic attachments, perhaps.”

  Katya looked at her friend.

  “Isabella, you say such strange things sometimes. Sometimes I think you weren’t made for this world. It’s a horrible night…no one goes out when it is like this.” Katya wanted to change the subject. “I saw your sister the other day.”

  “I am not interested in my sister,” Isabella objected, turning away from the window and back towards Katya, her facetious mood now becoming more serious.

  “I know you are not interested in your sister. It is the person I saw her with that should interest you or at least concern you.”

  “Why?”

  “She has taken up with a man called Peter. I don’t know his second name.”

  “Katya, I really don’t care who she has taken up with,” Isabella said, trying to dis
miss the conversation one more time.

  “You will, Isabella. Everyone in the village is suspicious of him. People suspect him of killing his father. His own father.”

  “He suits my sister, then.”

  “Just be careful, Isabella. They may be a dangerous pair.”

  “I wouldn’t worry. I can take care of myself despite my sister. She would be too terrified to even challenge me.” With this the conversation ended. Katya’s warning was not strong enough for her to be able to make Isabella realise the gravity of the situation.

  That night Isabella was restless. She waited till Nicolae was asleep and then once again headed up towards the castle. Peter was watching and waiting for her. Vlad was also watching her approach. He saw Peter and Isabella but stayed concealed from both of them.

  Isabella walked past Peter, still totally unaware that he was there. Peter started to follow her. When he got within touching distance of her, he grabbed her from behind and flung her around to face him. Isabella could smell his sour breath; he’d obviously been drinking. Peter pushed her down onto the forest floor and lay on top of her, pinning her down beneath his large frame.

  Isabella could feel his rough hand pushing up underneath her dress towards the top of her thigh. His other hand was also occupied by ripping off the shoulder of her dress. “There’s the scar just where your sister said it would be. But she was not right about everything. You are very beautiful, even more so up close,” Peter leered.

  “My sister!” Isabella snapped.

  “Yes, she is the one who wants me to kill you, but I think I will keep you alive until morning at least.” He pressed his lips over Isabella’s.

  Isabella became enraged at the mention of her sister. Natasha had arranged this. Not content any more to try and ruin any chance Isabella had of happiness, Natasha wanted to kill her.

  Isabella’s rage gave her strength and she bit down hard and took off part of Peter’s tongue. Then she snatched his hand from under her dress and kicked out and up with both legs to get Peter off her. Isabella was now free from his grasp and he was reeling in agony, holding his bloodied face. She lifted a rock and with all the strength she had left to muster, she bashed in Peter’s skull and then spat on him in disgust.