Scarlet Rose

Chapter 3 - The Count's Mansion

Katherine saw those scary faces again as they chased her through a forest that seemed to never end. The very appearance of this forest at night, with the moonlight barely breaking through the canopy of densely growing trees, full of shadows and mysterious sounds, was scary enough. The fact that she was being chased again by those horrible monsters only added to her horror, and she prayed that this forest would finally end at some point. Katherine glanced over her shoulder, though she was afraid to see what was behind her. Katherine saw that it must have been them, these terrible undead creatures. It was dark, but the fangs in their mouths shone clearly in the moonlight. She felt terrified, ran and ran, screaming, but no sound came out of her mouth, with every step felt rocks and dry branches hurt her feet, but wasn't going to stop. At all costs, Kath couldn't let any of those monsters catch up with her. God, let this turn out to be just a nightmare and she'd wake up in her room soon. Katherine was wearing only a nightgown that was all dirty with something that looked like blood. No, it was definitely blood, but Kath had no idea how it get on the fabric, as she couldn't feel any part of her body being hurt, not counting the feet, of course. However, it wasn't important now, she had to concentrate on exploring the area around and looking for a way out of the forest. Katherine had the horrible feeling that she was running around in a circles, but maybe it was because the forest looked the same all the way. But what if she's really lost here and never finds a way out? She couldn't run forever and would eventually collapse from exhaustion. But Katherine decided that this was a much better end than being attacked and bitten by those monsters that were chasing her. It is true that she did not want to die, but if had to choose, definitely preferred to die of exhaustion.

After a while, she felt something wet and sticky under her feet. When Katherine glanced down, she saw that was running through pools of blood, and almost slip on it, but luckily managed to keep her balance, however, had to stop running. Katherine closed her eyes, ready for the creatures attack, but felt nothing, so she opened them soon after, then saw him - Antoine. He had the same mocking smile on his lips, and looking at her, he licked his lips and showed fangs. When Katherine saw the vampire rushing toward her, she screamed again.

- No, leave me alone! I don't want this! Leave me alone! Help! Somebody save me, please...- Katherine heard her voice this time, and suddenly felt as if someone was holding her shoulders and shaking slightly.

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- Lady O'Sullivan, please wake up!- she heard a woman's voice and felt more and more clearly being shaken. Katherine was throwing herself in the sheets, screaming for a while, until she finally woke up completely and opened her eyes wide.

- Where am I? Who are you? How do you know my name?- she began to ask, looking around the elegant but definitely unfamiliar room and seeing a strange woman in her thirties sitting on the edge of the bed.

- You are in the mansion of counts Shiro Akira and Wayne Williams. And your name was engraved at the luggage that was found in the carriage near which you were found, my lady.- the woman replied, releasing Kath's arms.- I'm Margareth Stone, dr Margareth Stone.- she introduced herself aftet standing up and Katherine looked at her closely. This woman was of medium height, well built, but not fat; her face was pale, sprinkled with freckles, but the rest of the skin, especially on the hands, was slightly tanned. She had hair in the color of fire, and green eyes. Already from the expression on her face you could read that dr Stone was a rather simple woman, even the dress she was wearing was very modest, in gray and white colors.

- How did I get here?- Katherine continued asking.

- Lady O'Sullivan, you were drove in the carriage through the forest, right? And then you were attacked by turned vampires.- said Margareth with a stoic calm that surprised Kath.- Count Akira and his cousin Wayne were in that area because they had been informed about the nest of these creatures there. However, they did not find them in the hideout, but by examining the traces they reached a forest path, where you and your servants were attacked. They killed most of the turned vampires, and took the you with them, along with the carriage and luggage.- she explained more precisely.

- What about my servants? And a coachman?- Katherine asked another question.- I saw these creatures standing over their bodies, as if they were waiting for something...- she added in a trembling voice, at the mere memory of this image.

- They waited for them to change.- replied Margareth, and seeing her questioning gaze, she continued.- A human who has been bitten by a vampire turns into the same creature after a while. And the turned vampires want to increase their number, so they mainly attack people and wait for them to change.- she sat down on the edge of the bed again.- Unfortunately, when counts Shiro and Wayne arrived, your servants, my lady, had already changed, so they had to kill them.- the woman added after a while.

- Wait, why do you keep saying 'turned vampires'? And how were these two counts able to fight against this creatures?- Katherine asked more questions, understanding little of it.

- You see, my lady, count Akira and his cousin are vampires, but pure blooded ones.- Margareth replied, and seeing Kath wanting to ask again, she anticipated the question, so went on.- The difference is that turned vampires attack people mercilessly, transforming them to rise their numbers. Pure blood vampires have made a pact with humans and they drink mostly animal blood, and if human then only from criminals.- she explained to her.

Katherine thought for a moment, putting it all together in her head. Suddenly she remembered something.

- Wait... But I was bitten too.- she said after a short moment of silence. This more human vampire, whom they called Antoine, who spoke English, but with a strong French accent... He bit me.- she pointed out, looking at the woman.- Why am I not changed? I don't feel any different…- Katherine continued, touching her neck with both hands, but found no sign of the bite.

- Count Akira saved you just in time by giving you his blood, my lady, so you did not change and the bite wound disappeared overnight. Pure blood vampire's blood has such power if, of course, it is given quick enough.- Margareth replied.- Are you saying there was a vampire named Antoine who spoke with a distinct French accent? I must mention it to the count... - she added.

- What? Why is it so important?- Katherine ignored the first part of her speech for a moment, focusing at the last sentence.

- Since Antoine is now the oldest and most powerful of the turned vampires, he is also playing the role of their leader. Finding and getting rid of the leader will make catching the turned vampires much easier.- Margareth sighed, clearly already a bit annoyed by her constant questions.- How are you feeling, lady Katherine? Do you have the strength to get dressed and go down to the dining room? You must eat something.- she changed the subject quickly.

- Yes, I think so.- she replied, getting up on the pillows.

Margareth called the maid and ordered one of the dresses in Katherine's luggage to be brought. Kath got out of bed, but seeing the maid, she saw something strange in her. It turned out that the entire service in this mansion consisted of turned vampires, but those who rebelled against Antoine and voluntarily decided to cooperate with pure blood vampires. As a result, they were targeted by other turned, but luckily counts Shiro and Wayne gave them their blood, which made this vampires more enduring and kept them from losing their humanity, which happened very easily to turned ones.

Margareth assured her that none of the servants were dangerous, but that did not completely reassure Katherine. However, the vampire maid wasn't offended, since she knew that young lady O'Sullivan got to know her race from the darkest side.

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Once Katherine was wearing one of her more modest dresses, a dark green color, they went down to the dining room. She wanted to wear something more dressy to show herself to the counts and thank them for saving her, but dr Stone advised her to dress more modestly than usual, it was only a meal, after all.

The dining room was large and really elegant, full of antique furniture and paintings. In general, this mansion was more like a royal palace, and every part of it Katherine managed to see on the way seemed only to add to that impression.

At one end of the table were ordinary food and drinks, and at the other end plates of what looked like bloody, almost raw meat, and the goblets that were filled with a thick red liquid.

- Yes, it's blood.- Margareth seemed to be reading her mind.- We sit on this end.- she then pointed to the chairs set on the side of the table with a normal meal, and sat down on the chair next to Kath. Well, dr Stone was a human, after all, probably the only one here. Katherine wondered how she could live so peacefully in a mansion full of vampires.

Two men entered the dining room shortly after. They were both tall and well-built, with skin as white as milk, black hair, and burgundy eyes. One of them was Asian, the other clearly European, but still there were a few similarities in their facial features, indicating that they were related for sure.

Katherine rose from her chair, bowing slightly, as befits a well-mannered young lady.

- Lady Katherine O'Sullivan, please have a seat. There is no need to get up, and you surely are still weak.- said a man with Asian features. When she sat down, the two men also took their seats on the other side of the table.- My name is Shiro Akira, I am the only pure blooded vampire who survived from the Japanese Akira clan.- the Asian introduced himself.- I lost my residence in Japan, so I went to my mother's country and moved to her family's mansion.- he added

- And I am count Wayne Williams, Shiro's cousin. My father and his mother were siblings.- said the other man with European features.

Hearing their voices, Katherine noticed a another significant difference - Shiro had a lower voice and was more stiff, his face was quite cold and he was generally surrounded by a darker aura. Wayne, on the other hand, had a slightly higher voice, his face shone like the sun, and the aura was much friendlier. However, by watching his gestures, you could tell that he was a womanizer, so she should be careful with him. They took care of their meal first, and Katherine focused only on her plate. She didn't want to watch the vampires sitting at the far end of the table eating almost raw meat and drinking blood.

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After the meal, count Shiro, count Wayne, dr Stone, and Katherine sat down in the living room. This room was as exquisite as the dining room and bedroom where she spend her night.

- Lady Katherine said Antoine was among the vampires who attacked her carriage.- Margareth spoke up.

- Yes it's true. One of these beings addressed one of them like that, and this man answered in English, with a distinctly French accent.- Katherine confirmed.

- And to think that we were so close and this bastard got away.- Wayne sighed, clearly annoyed.

- First, watch your language, Wayne. There is a lady between us.- Shiro admonished him.- Second, it annoys me too, but we can't do anything about it now. We just have to keep looking for him.- he concluded.

- Of course.- Wayne agreed.- And I'm sorry for my language- he turned to Katherine.

- It's okay, I understand that it can evoke emotions. After all, he's their leader, isn't he? Catching him would be helpful.- she replied, smiling slightly.

- Yes, that's true.- Shiro replied, glancing at her for a short time, then focused on the view outside the window.

- I also wanted to thank you for saving my life.- Katherine continued, her gaze running from Shiro to Wayne.

- No problem, that's one of our responsibilities.- Shiro replied.

- Sure.- added Wayne.

- Also, I'm fine now, so I'd like to ask, count Akira and count Williams, if you could help me begin my journey again?- Katherine asked.- I was traveling to Cardiff, to my future husband's mansion. I was supposed to be there today at noon, and I'm sure my fiance will be worried about me, plus he'll probably notify my father and brother in London that I didn't come. I don't want them to worry unnecessarily, besides, the wedding is going to take place next week.- she explained more precisely, looking at them pleadingly.

At these words, count Williams bit his lower lip as he glanced meaningfully at his cousin. Count Akira's face, however, took on a strange expression - something similar to sense of guilt. Sitting beside Katherine Margareth lowered her head, clearly confused by something. Kath did not understand their reaction and frowned slightly.

- Are you going to tell her that or should I do it?- Wayne gave his cousin a meaningful look again.

- What's the matter?- Katherine asked finally, even more suspicious after hearing count Williams words.- I'm serious, I have to be in Cardiff by tomorrow at the latest...- she began to explain again.

- Lady Katherine.- Shiro interrupted her, clearly having hard time looking straight at Katherine.- I'm afraid you won't be able to leave my mansion.- he informed her, now with guilt painted clearly on his face.