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To my dismay, I am dreaming of the sisters.

Tonight I awakened screaming. Vlad sat beside me, his arms resting on his knees. His face was drawn and his green eyes glimmered with dark fires. Instinctively, I knew that he, too, had dreamed of the three women he has abandoned to starvation.

The dream had been terrible. In it I had been ravenously hungry and clawing at the door to the castle attempting to escape. My hands were shriveled and gray, my nails long and clawed. In my greatly weakened state, I was unable to even splinter the heavy wood.

In the dream I was screaming in agony. My teeth were long and sharp and were shredding my dried lips. My mouth was parched and my throat felt painfully dry. As my voice rose into a shriek, I felt the flesh on my face crack and split.

And in my dream, I felt a horrible despair that the man I loved had abandoned me and all was lost. I would wither away as the hunger ate at me until nothing was left, and I was filled with terror.

It was then I had awakened.

Rolling onto my side, I wept into my pillow, the horror of the dream still gripping me. Vlad remained unmoving beside me. I could feel his anger seeping from him to infect the atmosphere of the room.

“You cannot just leave them starving,” I finally dared to say. “How can you do this to Cneajna?”

“Do not speak her name to me,” Vlad snapped.

“But she loves you. She loves me. I dreamed of her and-” I was cut off when he slapped me.

“We will not speak of her again. Or of the other two,” Vlad said in a low voice. He lay beside me and put his arm about my waist to pull me hard against his body. “Sleep and forget them. Our time draws near. ”

Weeping softly, I covered my face with my hand and found no solace in sleep or wakefulness. At last I rose to write this entry. I cannot truly rest knowing that the sisters are in such dreadful agony.

Later -

So much has happened since I began this entry just a few hours ago. I am still shaking and terrified. I can barely believe what I have just endured. I am writing to calm myself and draw my thoughts together.

In such a short time all that I have known has been destroyed.

I finally did sleep again after my nightmare of the sisters. Vlad woke me a few hours later, and I rose up to see that he was already dressed.

“The Baroness has invited us to join her at her home tonight,” he said in a low voice. His hair and mustache were neatly trimmed, and his bright green eyes regarded me thoughtfully.

I made a face at this announcement. I had no desire to see his mistress. The last few nights had been draining as Vlad and I spent hours planning our move to England. Already he has our trip across the continent mapped, and we've spent hours conversing in English. His accent is strange and he has a tendency to word things oddly, but he is improving quickly.

I never really had a moment to myself and Vlad seemed to deliberately stay at my side. Of course, this meant I could not go meet Ignatius in the hotel garden so I resented that I was going to be forced to visit with Vlad’s mistress.

Vlad laughed at my pout, leaning toward me. “You are so very contrary. ”

“You have no idea,” I retorted.

“Oh, I believe I do. ” He stood up slowly and ran his hand over my cheek. “Dress in your finest. Let the Baroness see your full beauty tonight. ”

I fear an evil little glint flashed into my eyes.

“I did not realize you were so jealous, my dear wife,” he said with amusement.

I drew away from him and pouted. “I would just rather she understand that she is not my competition. ”

“Of course she is not,” Vlad chided me. “Even if she does seem to believe that. She could never compete with you, my flame haired bride. ” He caught me by my hair and drew me against him. Kissing the back of my neck, his hands slid over my body.

I growled at him irritably. “If you wish me to dress then stop that. ” I drew away from him and fled from our secret chamber.

He caught me in the foyer and twirled me about. His kiss was searing as I beat my hands against his chest. Twining his hands in my hair, he whispered against my lips. “You are the first. Remember that. ”

“Only when it serves my purposes,” I retorted.

He laughed, releasing me. I stomped my foot at him, then turned and fled up the stairs.