NIGHTMARE
PROLOGUE
Carpathian Mountains
Romania
1988
.
A woman knelt down beside a charming six year old girl.
The woman took a small, transparent glass vial from her pocket with a murky viscous liquid swirling like a dark smoke.
"Fiica, drink your medicine." The woman opened the cap and handed the pentagon shaped vial to her daughter.
Adrianna stared fascinated at the vial. The small bottle is engraved with a sleeping snake which has shiny green scales. And the snake seemed to wriggle?
"Adi?"
The young girl transferred her gaze to her mother then glanced at the vial again.
But the snake seemed to be well behaved. Its not squirming anymore. Adrianna tilted her head at the side. Not minding it.
But the medicine, she greatly mind.
"Mama, that's bitter." The young girl protested with a pout and an aggrieved face.
"Don't worry, dulcele meu. This will be the last one." The woman coaxed her daughter soothingly in a melodic voice as she stroked Adrianna's silver strands.
Adrianna took the vial with hesitation. She gripped the vial tight with her little hand as she glanced at her mother with a pitiful, sad look.
The woman just smiled at Adrianna's antics.
Seeing no reprieve, Adrianna pouted as she valiantly closed her eyes as if she is about to be executed. She bravely held her breath and swiftly drank the potion in one gulp.
Then her face suddenly turned ugly as it twisted and crumpled with distaste.
BLEH!
Adrianne grimaced as she stuck her tongue out in disgust. She handed the empty vial back to her mother.
The woman took the vial with a helpless smile tugging on her lips. Seeing that the coiled snake carving was gone, the woman smiled.
Even though the woman is stretched tight by mental stress and emotional tension, she can't help but softly laugh in humor.
She kissed her daughter's nose and hugged her tight.
"You are the very best thing that ever happened to me and your tata. The very best gift we ever received." The woman uttered barely above a whisper. Her voice trembled with unshed tears.
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At the Second Floor Grand Hall.
Both Liena and Andrei stood ramrod straight as their empty, expressionless eyes pass through the body of the man in front of them. Like a lifeless puppet with dead eyes.
The man studied the petite Filipina woman and the lean Romanian man who were standing right before his eyes.
Both of them has been working for his family for six years. The woman as Adrianna's nanny or bonă and the man as his daughter's bodyguard.
He knows they can be trusted but a double insurance needs to be established. And the only surefire way he knows is to spellbind them with a compulsion.
The man looked straight into the eyes of Andrei.
With a hypnotic, mesmerizing voice, the man's eyes swirled like a vortex as his eye's sclera turned from white to bloody red and his iris turned from blue to silver gray.
"Please love Adrianna as your own daughter. Provide her with the best thing you can give. Instill in her the moral ethics of conscience, forgiveness and respect for other people's rights and feelings."
"Teach her the importance of upholding one's promise, how to be straightforward and honest. Teach her loyalty, duty and responsibility."
Silence.
"If asked on the origin of the music box, you will answer, 'The music box is a gift. A reward given for our impeccable character and outstanding service.' Nothing else."
Then the man turned to Liena, the Filipina woman, and stated the same compulsion given to Andrei, the Romanian man.
He did not distort the truth nor make them believe Adrianna is their daughter. He has his own selfish reasons.
He very well knows, fate always conspires to reveal whatever truth.
At some point in the future, the truth will be unveiled. Should Adrianna choose to reclaim her birthright, he wants her identity to open the doors for her.
He also wants his daughter to someday remember that she is loved and the most treasured by her parents.
And that she is not an abandoned child.
While there is no single foolproof way in protecting Adrianna's life, considering the multiple intricate insurances that he has set up, at least it would reduce the chance of others of their kind from finding her before it is time.
And others of their kind would do anything to find his daughter.
His daughter has another special and sensitive identity. An identity that needs to be kept hidden. And this needs an immediate drastic action to let their daughter live an unimpeded life.
And to revert things back to its rightful state, he is betting on her daughter's mate to set things into motion. To set things right.
Fate is really cruel.
The one precious daughter that he prayed so hard to ask for, has to be entrusted to another.
The man stared hard at Adrianna's to be parents. His face showed his unwillingness. Adrianna will still call for her tata. However, it will no longer be him.
But what else can he do?
After making sure the compulsion is complete, the man flicked the foreheads of the couple before him and snapped his fingers twice.
He stared hard at the couple for awhile.
Then he faced the window with an assertive, domineering posture with his shoulders back and his hands clasped behind him.
He is completely standing still with an apathetic and indifferent air around him. His head and eyes locked on a distant scenery with a blank facial expression.
But deep inside, his heart is a chaotic mess. There is an intense stabbing pain, drilling into his heart. Like a sharp knife gutting him into a million pieces.
"Milord?" A hoarse, dull voice asked. Confusion and hesitation evident on the underlying tone.
Silence.
"I owe you couple a life debt and I'm eternally grateful to you both. I will entrust my precious to your care, please..." The man gasped as his breath is suddenly caught in his throat. Choking him.
Gritting his teeth hard, the man's eyes turned red with agony and torment. He took a deep long breath. Then continued.
"Please, treat my Adrianna as your own. Liena, Andrei...I'm sorry. This responsibility should have been mine to uphold. A duty I'm more than willing to undertake but, I will have to entrust this responsibility to both of you. Please treat my most treasured daughter well."
"Da, Milord."
"Yes, Milord."
"The music box. Please give it to her a month before her eighteenth year. Let her play the music everyday until the eve of her birthday. This is important."
"Da, Milord."
"Yes, Milord."
"Mulțumesc." The man whispered under his breath but the couple heard the powerful, sonorous words as it echoed in their ears.
"Go."
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AT THE LOWER BAILEY
"Mama?" Adrianna has a puzzled look on her face as she was directly stuffed with her huge teddy bear.
She watched her bonă and her sot scurrying like mice as they carry two suitcases that were bursting with fullness. They hauled the suitcases then crammed and squeezed them into the open boot.
Adrianna watched with intrigue as her bonă is now trying to fit an overstuffed knapsack into the already overfilled boot. With all her efforts of pushing and wedging, her fringe were already wet with sweat and her chest was also rising and falling with rapid breaths.
The car is already full of overstuffed bags. The car wouldn't throw up, would it? Adrianna wondered.
"Are bonă and her sot, running away? They scamper and scurry like rabbits on a run." Adrianna tilted her head as she chewed on her thumb nail.
The woman held the finger Adrianna has been chewing on and put the hand down at her side.
Adrianna looked up at her mother with an innocent charming smile. Her smile is so wide that her face is glowing with transparent affection and attachment to her mother.
Seeing Adrianna's smile, the woman bit her lips to stop her own answering smile. This daughter of hers really knows how to use her charms to her advantage.
She was about to educate her daughter about chewing nails when all of a sudden, she felt her blood boil.
Her face turned ugly.
She can feel her canine teeth elongating. Her heart is beating at a fast speed. In every split second, her heart is beating more hard at an even more higher speed.
She instantly turned her head up to where the second floor grand hall was located.
Adrianna watched in fascination at her mother's slowly protruding teeth as it grew past her mother's lips. Her mother's protruding teeth is extra pointy and looks extra sharp.
She opened her mouth and rubbed her small canines with disappointment. Still not there. She pouted. Now she is even more aggrieved than drinking the medicine earlier.
"Iubita mea..." The woman whimpered as a low broken, pitiful sound escaped from her lips.
Then she flashed past the guardhouse to the upper bailey.
Seeing her mother rushing towards the main bailey, she hurried to run as fast as her short legs can follow.
Then she saw a nightmare.
A man in a black cape with dark hair and red eyes ate a man's head off! He pierced his sharp teeth on top of the victim's head. Drilling it deep down to the victim's scalp.
The victim's arms were flailing wildly in struggle as blood was sprayed everywhere!
Seeing the victim's helpless struggle, the red eyed man laughed crazily. The laugh was so loud, so stretched out and was recklessly wild. And it was the most frightening laugh Adrianna had ever heard.
The red eyed man continued his feast. He then violently pierced his fangs deep into the man's neck and forcefully pulled the skin to the opposite side. Tearing off a big chunk of the victim's neck.
Like a fountain, the blood streamed out into the air!
Adrianna's mouth opened wide in a silent scream of horror.
The man's hair and face was bathed with blood as he ate the flesh he had just bitten off. Then he licked his lips as if savoring the taste of his meal.
The man looked down at the now gaping throat and continued to crazily feed from the victim's neck. He was happily chomping and feeding when suddenly, he went completely still. He was alerted by an irresistible smell. That's when he was made aware of another being's presence.
He glanced at his back. He saw a beautiful young girl.
The child, Adrianna.