“I had such an awful fear that I would never leave here,” I confessed.
“Well, you are leaving. Up with you!” Father caught me firmly and lifted me into the carriage.
Gratefully, I settled into my seat, arranging my long coat, scarf and skirts as my mother climbed in. I tried not to look at the castle, but my eyes were drawn to the crumbling façade. What strange things had happened here. My dreams had been odd and frightening, full of terrible visions and wanton lusts.
The cool crisp air of the gray morning stung my cheeks red and my eyes were bright with the excitement of finally being away from this awful place. Much to my relief and that of my family, Prince Vlad had not come down to see us off.
May fidgeted with her bonnet as I finally settled into my seat. My father slammed the door shut, enclosing us in the safety of the coach, and he sat back in his seat with a sigh of relief. I tucked my hand into his as the carriage rolled forward and slowly turned about, the horses’ hooves clapping against the flagstones.
“There, there,” he said softly, patting my hand, and I was comforted.
As the carriage departed the castle courtyard, I resisted one last look and concentrated on my mother’s face. This morning my mother looked quite young and beautiful, any signs of harshness faded from her lovely features. She was far too relieved to be away from the castle to nag me or May.
The carriage was soon traveling at top speed, away from the castle and the strange man whom dwelt there. As the miles that separated the carriage from the castle increased, we slowly began to relax. Even May smiled when Mother said, “Well, it would be that the first man on this journey taken with Glynis was totally unsuitable.”
I giggled and snuggled up to my father. “Thank you, dear Father, for getting us away from that horrible, horrible man.”
My father just smiled and said, “There, there.” But I could see the relief in his eyes and his strong hand holding mine made me feel protected and loved.
For an hour we traveled through the misty mountain passes as the sun struggled to rise higher in the sky only to be brutally overwhelmed by dark menacing clouds that billowed out over the valley. I watched the approaching storm with apprehension. The storm seemed to not only be gaining strength, but also pursuing us.
“Father, if the storm hits us, will the pass become too treacherous?”
My father stared out the window, contemplating my words. He watched the lightning flashing deep within the storm clouds and listened to the long rumble of the thunder rolling. “It does seem to be growing stronger.” He leaned out of the window. “Ovidiu! Ovidiu! Can we beat the storm to the village?”
My mother leaned forward to gaze out over the lush valley. “I do not even see the village.”
Father pulled his head into the carriage. His expression did not comfort us.
“What is it?” Mother demanded.
“The driver is confused. He says that we are not heading in the right direction and every time he tries to double back, we only seem to end up where we began.”
“I do not understand. What does that mean, Father?” May looked very pale with her pink lips trembling.
Fearfully, I leaned over and out of the carriage as far as I dared. The dark, menacing castle loomed close behind us. “Oh, God!”
“Glynis, do not take the Lord’s in-Oh, Lord, no!” Mother obviously could not believe her eyes as the carriage turned slowly. “Why are we heading back?”
“They are going to try and descend the way we traveled the other night,” Father answered. His brow was deeply furrowed, his hand clenched against his chin.
“I do not want to go near that place!” I protested.
“There, there, dear. All will be well.” My father took my hand in his and squeezed gently.
As the carriage raced down the steep path toward the castle, I could not tear my eyes from it. I could barely breathe until the carriage passed by the crumbling entrance and turned down the pass we had ascended previously. I was afraid that every darkened window of the great castle hid the face of the horrible Vlad Dracula.
Mother leaned forward and took my hand. “We are away from that horrible place, Glynis. Do not be frightened.”
Impulsively, I kissed her. “I will not be.”
With a smile, Mother sat back and held May in her arms. “All will be well soon.”
“She is right, dears. The castle will soon be far behind us,” Father said firmly.
I tried to believe my parents, but I was frightened. The dark, rolling sounds of thunder were nearly overhead and the first tiny drops of the coming rains spattered against the side of the carriage. I leaned against my father’s arm and he patted my cheek.
“There, there, Glynis. Just a few more hours and we will be in a nice village inn.”
No matter how comforting my father’s words were, I could not fight off the overwhelming fear that I would not escape the looming presence of the castle. I could still see the decayed battlements over the tops of the trees. I could not wipe from my mind the way Prince Vlad had looked upon me with such lust and confidence. He had seemed amused as if he had knowledge of my fate that I did not posses.
The horses began to neigh and the carriage lurched back and forth abruptly, then came to a stop. We were all thrown to the floor in a heap of silk skirts.
“Damn it all!” Father wrenched the door open and leaped out.
Ovidiu’s voice called out, “Kind, sir, there is no way down!”
“Nonsense!”
I leaned out of the carriage and watched as my father marched toward the horses, his coat flaring out about him. The rain pelted down on him with increasing fierceness. His hat flew off and he barely caught it with one hand. His pale hair was instantly plastered to his noble forehead.
“No way down! No way down,” the driver called out in heavily accented words.
Terrified at their words, I jumped from the carriage and ran after my father. My traveling shoes slipped in the mud as I fought the wind, my hand clasped to my bonnet. “What do they mean? Father, what do they mean?”
As I drew near him, I saw that my father’s shoulders were rounded in a heavy droop. His hand was slowly rubbing the top of his head as he stared downward.
Then I saw what had him so overwhelmed.
A great chasm had opened up and split the road apart. A deep gorge now cut through the mountain pass and there was simply no way around it. I could not believe my eyes. We had just traveled this road two days before and for this to happen was inconceivable.
“How? How?” My father’s voice a mere whisper. A terrified whisper.
“We were at the castle of a wicked man, Lord Edric,” Ovidiu said. “A wicked, evil man! He has great powers! He promised us safety when we were his guests, but now that we have left him, he will not spare us!”
“What nonsense! Ovidiu, there has to be a way off this damned mountain. We will go back and find it.”
Ovidiu turned and spoke swiftly to the driver in their native tongue. The dark, haggard driver kept shaking his head, clasping his hand over his crucifix.
“We think that we should perhaps try to go on foot or on the horses and leave the carriage,” Ovidiu said, his voice shaking.
“Nonsense! We have the women to consider and the storm is nearly upon us. We will go back and this time keep track of the roads. There is a way off this damned mountain and we will find it. Come, Glynis!”
I rushed after my very upset Father and stumbled a little as I did. When we reached the carriage, he lifted me up then followed me in.
“What is happening, Edric?” My mother looked pale and frightened as she tried to soothe my moaning sister.
“The way down has been cut off. A landslide perhaps. We have to try and find another way down.” Though his face was quite stern and his eyes anxious, he forced a smile and kissed Mother gently on the forehead. “It is nonsense to think this is something other than a natural phenomenon.”
I gazed at my father sadly. I knew he was a man who was skeptical of all things supernatural. He attended all sorts of lectures about enlightenment and the rational mind. I had not seen him enter a church since we were small children, and I had the impression he endured Mother’s fervent Catholicism. He was, by nature, a skeptical man. But I had seen his face at the gorge. Despite his words, I knew, in that moment, staring into the chasm, he had believed that somehow the Prince had reached out with his power and destroyed our way to the village.
May burst into tears and buried her face in Mother’s shoulder. My mother held her tightly, looking toward me. I reached out to her and we clasped hands for a tender moment.
“Do not be frightened, my darlings. All will be well. There, there,” Father said soothingly. He had quite recovered himself at this point and looked his normal calm self. He put his arm around my shoulders and hugged me close.
The storm bellowed overhead and erupted with such fury the entire carriage began to shudder. The horses whinnied with terror as the carriage lurched into motion. It had not traveled far when the storm began to beat down on us with such savagery the driver was forced to seek shelter in a thicket of trees. The hiding place only spared us a little from the brutality of the wind and the rain. ligtning flashed brilliantly all around us.
For several hours, we huddled inside the carriage, cold and wet, fearing the ferocity of the storm. I sat close to Father, trying to seek both warmth and assurance. Deep within me was a horrible fear that we were never going to be free of this place. Oh, how I wished I had behaved myself when my family had been in Italy and France. Perhaps if I had been more agreeable we would not be in such a horrible predicament. Guilt raged within me as fiercely as the storm. My mother sat across from me, her eyes clenched tightly while her fingers slid over the beads of her rosary as she prayed. Ever faithful May sat beside her, following her in her prayers. They did not deserve this. Perhaps I did, but they certainly did not.
Whimpering slightly, I pressed myself more deeply into the embrace of my father and felt his gentle hand patting my back.
I thought of my nightmare of Prince Vlad and those horrible women with the sharp teeth. What if had not been a dream? What if all of this was a manifestation of his evil? Of his power? Then, surely, we would never escape.
I felt warm tears fall down my cheeks and covered my face with my hand.
After a while, we became hungry and ate a bit of the food the gypsy women had given us. I still remembered their dark eyes as they had handed us the basket. I suspected it was pity I had seen dwelling in their gaze. I ate slowly, feeling a tight pinch in my throat and a nervous flutter in my stomach. May was too upset to eat, but I ate the piece of chicken and the fruit Mother gave me. Even though my stomach was churning, I was famished. I had felt listless since awakening in the morning and the burning emptiness inside of me did not lessen with the food. Yet, the food tasted divine. As I chewed on the succulent flesh of a ripe apple, it never occurred to me that I was eating my last meal.
The day slipped by quickly for it was mid-afternoon when the carriage finally rolled past the castle. We said not a word as we watched it slip past the window. May whimpered a bit so I reached out and took her hand to calm her.
For what seemed like an eternity, the carriage kept turning down narrow roads as the driver tried to find his way down into the valley below. But every road that initially turned downward would soon lead right back up the mountain. No matter which way the carriage turned, we could not escape the presence of Prince Vlad’s castle looming over us.
The storm clouds disappeared into the horizon and the sun appeared hovering low over the valley. The evening was approaching.
“Father, the sun is beginning to set,” I whispered.
“I know, dear, but we will not turn back. We can travel at night if we need to.”
“I cannot believe the day has already passed us by,” Mother said. “I just cannot believe how horrible all of this has been.”
“There, there, Antoinetta. We must not worry the children.”
“Too late, Father. I am very worried and very frightened,” I said.
“As am I!” May clutched her rosary tightly. “Oh, I just wish we were far away from this horrible place.”
“Ovidiu will find a way down and soon we shall be in a cozy inn,” Father said firmly.
“Oh, God, Edric, let it be true.”
I watched as the bright orange sun descended to its resting place beyond the mountains. Long, black shadows filled the lush valley below and to my absolute delight, I saw the flicker of lights in the distance.
“Father, the village!”
“Thank God! It is there, Edric!”
“Ovidiu, Ovidiu!” Father leaned out of the carriage window.
I threw my arms around May and kissed her on both cheeks affectionately. “You see, May! All will be well!”
“They see the road that leads downward. It very clearly cuts down toward the valley,” Father announced with a jovial laugh.
I cheered and hugged him. We all embraced each other as Mother clasped her rosary tight and thanked all the Saints, the Virgin, and the Holy Trinity. Father just smiled at her, slightly shaking his head as he sat back in his seat and finally relaxed.