Your vision is starting to blur. The shrill laughter of Lady Dimitrescu's daughters slowly dimmed, replaced by a loud thump in your ears. The piercing cold and mental stress of being surrounded by these creatures drains your energy instantly.
The hard stone floor is the last thing you feel before everything turns pitch black.
...
A few moments later (or maybe hours, you don't know for sure), your consciousness slowly returns. Your head feels heavy and throbbing. You are no longer on the cold floor of the banquet hall.
Both of your wrists are sore. When you open your eyes, you realize that you are hanging in the air, bound by cold iron chains to a hook on the ceiling. Your feet dangle, barely touching the floor of a dimly lit basement.
"Ah, he's awake," a heavy and authoritative voice echoed in the room.
You look forward. There, Lady Dimitrescu was sitting in a plush chair that looked small for her size. He was sipping a deep red liquid from a crystal glass, while his three daughters stood in the darkness of the corner of the room, watching you like a lion looking at trapped prey.
"You're lucky I didn't let my daughters tear you apart when you fainted just now," Lady D said as she stood up, her incredible height making her shadow cover your entire body. "Your blood... The smell is too special to just throw away."
He walked over, his long nails starting to extend from his gloves—sharp and shiny like a scalpel.
"Tell me, little mouse," he whispered, lifting your chin with the tips of his cold nails. "Who sent you to my castle? Is that old man, Miranda?"
Me : I got lost..
Lady Dimitrescu tilts her head slightly, looking at you with a look that is hard to decipher—between disbelief and restrained thirst. He exhaled a deep breath, the scent of roses and expensive tobacco from his breath hitting your face.
"Lost?" he repeated in a low, trembling tone, as if the word was a boring joke. "This forest doesn't let anyone 'get lost' into here for no reason, little rats. Everything that comes to my gate usually has a purpose... or bad fate."
Suddenly, Bela appears from behind the shadows on your left, bringing her pale face closer to your neck. You can feel the cold of its body made up of thousands of insects.
"Mom, if he gets lost, then no one will look for him, right?" whispered Bela in a terrible hoarse voice. "May I just taste it? Just one bite..."
"Be patient, Bela," Lady Dimitrescu cut back, pulling back her long nails, though she still stood very close to you. "Feared blood tastes bitter. We have to let it feel... A little quieter before the party starts."
He then turns his back on you, walking towards a large wooden table filled with old wine bottles with Sanguis Virginis written on it.
"Tell me," he said without turning his head, "what's your name? If you're going to die in this castle, at least I want to know what label I should write on your wine bottle later."
The chains on your wrists clink loudly as you try to move. This basement is stuffy and full of the smell of rusty iron.
Me : I.. Bag
"Bag..." Lady Dimitrescu says your name slowly, letting every syllable roll on her tongue as if she's tasting a new kind of wine. "Short name. It's easy to remember."
He turns back to face you, crossing his arms in front of his high chest. Its massive figure really makes this basement feel cramped. In the corner of the room, Daniela began to chuckle, the sound of her laughter sounding like the hum of a restless bee.
"Zak the rat got lost," Daniela teased while playing with a small sickle on her finger. "May I cut off just one finger, Mom? For my collection?"
Lady Dimitrescu ignored her daughter's request. He stepped forward until his face was only a few inches away from yours. His golden yellow eyes stare intently into your eyes, looking for signs of lies.
"Listen, Zak," he whispered in a heavy, threatening voice. "In this village, nothing happens without Mother Miranda's knowledge. If you're really just getting lost, then you're the most unlucky person to ever set foot on this land."
He then grabbed a large silver key from his waist and threw it at Bela.
"Get him down from there," Lady D. ordered. "Take him to the inner basement—where there are bars. I don't want him to die of running out of blood on this hanger before I decide what I should do with him."
Bela approached, her face looked disappointed but she remained obedient. With one quick movement, he unlocks the chain padlock that binds your hand.
Klang!
Your body fell to the hard stone floor because your legs were still weak. Bela grabbed the collar of your shirt and forced you to stand with force that was unreasonable for the size of a woman as slim as her.
"Let's go, Zak," Bela whispered right in your ear. "Don't try to run away again, or I'll let my younger siblings eat your legs."
You're taken down a dark underground passageway, past rows of cells that emit a pungent stench. At the end of the passage, there was a cell with very thick iron bars.
Me : Where do I want to be taken...
Bela chuckled, the sound of her laughter sounding like the rubbing of a dry insect's wings. He doesn't stop dragging you, his grip on your collar feels like an unshakable iron sling.
"To a place where you can't run anymore, Zak," he whispered in a mocking tone. "Mom wants you to stay 'fresh'. This basement is our best storage place. The air here is cold, perfect for maintaining the quality of your blood so that it doesn't deteriorate quickly."
You pass a heavy, rusty iron door. Behind it, there are rows of dark and damp prison cells. The floor is muddy with a black liquid that smells very fishy. Bela pushes you into one of the cornermost cells.
BRAKK!
Your body is blown into the dry straw that is already moldy in the corners of the cell. Bela quickly closed the iron bar door and locked it with a large key hanging from her waist.
"Don't put on a sad face like that," Bela said as she pressed her pale face against the bars, looking at you with thirsty eyes. "At least here you are safe from my younger siblings... temporarily. They usually can't stand the smell of this room."
She was silent for a moment, then her eyes glanced towards the hallway where Lady Dimitrescu might be.
"But be careful," he added in a lower voice, almost like a secret whisper. "Mother Miranda will soon come for the regular meeting of the Lords. If he knew there was a stranger here, he would probably ask your heart for his offering."
Bela then turns around and disappears into the darkness of the hallway, leaving you alone in a deserted cell. There was only the sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling falling onto the stone floor.
In the darkness of your cell, you realize something. In the corner of the room, under a pile of straw, there was a small hole in the stone wall that looked like an unfinished excavation mark.
Me : Trying to dig