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“You are most honored, my flame haired Bride. ”

The Brides were whispering among themselves in a strange foreign tongue. One of the dark haired women reached out to caress my hair. I pulled away from her, alarmed, and stumbled into the arms of the blond woman. She pressed her cheek against mine and whispered, “Dearest sister, your lovely hair has brought you life instead of death. It enchants him. As does your beauty and your spirit. ”

I pulled away from her. But Vlad was drawing near, driving me back toward the three women.

“What are you that you can appear from the shadows?” I cried out. I could not stop my shivering. I was so cold, so afraid. My teeth chattered. I hugged myself tightly. The Brides frightened me, but Vlad terrified me. The cold, soft hands of the Brides slid over my body. I twisted away from them and almost fell. They gathered me up and pulled me into the midst of them.

I cried out in fear as their cold bodies pressed against mine. “What are you?”

“I am Vlad Tepish. Dracula. I am Immortal. I am a Prince. I am your new Master. ”

I again saw those sharp teeth behind his red lips, and I shrank back in fear. The Brides stroked my hair, my face, my arms, whispering to me, their lips sometimes brushing my skin. One of the brunettes softly kissed my cheek and spoke to me in a gentle voice.

“She says not to be afraid of us, for soon you shall be one of us,” the blond woman translated.

Though I was shaking I tried to put my feet beneath me and stand my ground. I pushed my arms and hands outward, pushing them away from me. The Brides released me and stepped back as Vlad motioned them away from me.

“These are your sisters, my love. They will care for you as you change. ”

“I do not understand any of this!”

Vlad smiled ever so slyly. “You are mine forever, my dearest Glynis. I am giving you the gift of immortality. I am going to make you my Bride. A vampire. ”

“This is madness!”

In a panic, I ran to the window, my bare feet slipping on the stone floor. Instantly, the Brides were upon me. They seized me with their long fingers, pulling me back from the window. I almost fell as I spun away from them. Vlad caught me. I stared into his face in horror as he smiled, revealing those long fangs.

The blond Bride took hold of me and dragged me away from him. For a moment, I thought she intended to whisk me away, then the other two grabbed hold of me. With horror, I realized they were dragging me to the musty, old bed.

“No! Please, no! Please, no!” My shrieks filled the room as I fought against them, but they were obviously far more powerful.

The wolves outside began to howl. The Brides were strong and their grip sure. As much as I struggled, I could not break free. Tears were streaming down my face, but they took no notice.

The Brides dragged me onto the bed, managing to crawl across the covers like spiders, their movements bizarre and inhuman. They never lost their grip and maneuvered around me in a frightening ballet. The two dark haired Brides knelt at my sides while the blond bride knelt near my head.

“Come, my Master, the time has come,” she said in a low, excited voice. Her eyes were sparkling and fever-bright as she combed my hair back from my face and neck with her fingers.

The other two Brides echoed her breathlessly in their foreign tongue.

“No!”

The fire flashed brilliantly, then died to low embers. The women clustered around me, their long hair brushing over my body as their eyes burned like coals in the darkness. The Prince was nowhere to be seen. My eyes anxiously scanned the room for him, but he was gone. I sobbed with relief, hoping desperately that my unsaid prayers had been answered and he had fled.

To my absolute horror, he seemed to rise out of the very floor at the end of the bed to stand over us. He smiled his malevolent, seductive smile and rose onto the bed without moving one limb. With a burst of energy, I began to kick and twist about, thrashing about madly. The iron grip of the Brides would not give, and the Bride brushing my hair slapped me soundly. My head swam as I moaned in pain and fear. I could not bear to see Vlad crawling toward me with lust in his eyes. The Brides were whispering in madly soft voices, obviously urging him on. Their eyes, too, were wild and excited, their ruby lips pulled back from sharp glistening teeth.

Those teeth, those horrible, long, white teeth!

The Prince’s long body was over mine and he tore his shirt from his chest. His long hair fell over his shoulder in long dark waves as his eyes burned with red fire.

“Now. Now is the time, dear Glynis. ”

I screamed at him and shut my eyes. The world seemed to explode around me, voices mingling with the howls of the wolves, shadows and fire playing against my closed eyelids. His long hair fell all around me as he pushed my nightgown over my thighs. I kept screaming “no” and refusing to look at him as I felt his hands sliding roughly over me.

“I had planned to seduce you, my little one, but you have forced me to take you this way,” he said in a low voice, trying to kiss me.

I whipped my head back and forth, trying to evade him. This only made him angry and more determined.

When he entered me, an all-consuming pain erupted with me. He took me with such violent