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D.

Somehow, he knows. I feel it. All is doomed and I know not what to do!

The Journal of Lady Glynis Wright

The Castle

23rd of August, 1819

I am caught up in my journal now. I have reached the point where I shall now record events as they occur. Sadly, this does not bring me much peace, for I am still trapped in hell.

Tonight, I stood beside Elina on the decaying battlements of the castle. The Carpathians spread out before us in all their dark majesty. I was hungry and my vision was no longer as sharp as it had been.

Vlad has not made an appearance in the chapel for several days. None of us has seen him when we retire or when we rise. Of course, I have been off secretly writing in my journal, so I was avoiding the lot of them. It was not until Elina stood in the ruined chapel and said in a frightened voice, “He is not here” that I realized Vlad was missing. Cneajna and Ariana had woken before us and were not about. Alone, we gazed at each other warily.

“We should look for him,” she said to me.

I had agreed.

Elina and I searched the castle only to realize he was no longer with us.

“When did he leave I wonder?”

She glanced at me. “A few days ago. At least that is what I assume. That is when the gypsies stopped entering the castle. We should have realized then. They always lock the doors and stay away when h

e travels. ”

I smiled, joyful at the thought of being rid of Vlad for awhile. I utterly despise him and this was absolutely wonderful. “Well, that is fine with me. But, why do they not enter to serve us as they do Vlad?”

Elina eyed me with disdain. “Because they fear us. Soon the hunger will come and we will go mad. The gypsies know they will be in danger. ”

My eyes grew wide at the thought of starvation. We had fed four nights ago on an unlucky hunter. The hunger pangs were already beginning to throb and my heartbeat was sluggish. I felt the life draining away and knew we would have to feed soon. I realized that without Vlad bringing us some luckless mortal, our confinement within the castle would only bring us starvation. I had been so relieved to discover that Vlad was gone I had not realized the full implications his absence had wrought upon us.

Ariana emerged from the stairwell and danced across the cold stones. The night sky was breathtaking tonight. Not one cloud hid the stars from our view. Ariana was humming a lullaby to herself, but when she saw my expression, she stopped dancing.

“What is wrong?”

“We searched the entire castle. Every room. Every hallway. Every hidden room. Everywhere. Our Master is not here. His traveling cases are gone,” Elina responded.

“I went and peered down at the stables. The carriage is gone. That is why we have not seen him for days,” I added.

“I just thought he had not the desire to love us,” Ariana said softly.

“How long will he be gone?” I looked to Elina.

“I do not know. He comes and goes like this often. We never know when he will return,” she answered, her face drawn and fierce.

Ariana began to wail and fell to her knees. Sobbing hysterically, she pummeled the floor with her tiny fists. “I do not want to starve!”

“He shall return before then,” Cneajna said confidently from behind us. “He promised me before he left. ”

I whirled around, my eyes glowing with unspoken anger. “Why did you not tell us he had left us?”

Elina hissed with anger. “How could you keep this from us?”

Ariana just wailed.

“He promised that he will return tomorrow night. There was no reason to worry you. ”