CHAPTER SEVEN-TEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

There was no need to stand on a nerve ending and uncomfortable ceremony. There was also no need to offer any refreshments and judging from her measly pantry, Gabrelle had nothing to give. However, she did offer the old lady to sit but one glance at Gabrelle`s impoverished offerings, she turned her down easily and chose to pace the compact mud floor down. Gabrelle was dying to have a cup of tea but she knew that it would be unpleasant to do so. She took a seat on the well-used wooden chair and waited for the noble to state her case. Although the old lady had started off impatient, now she was straddled by a nervousness that she was indeed not accustomed to. Her entire attire was graced with poise, dignity and a labyrinth of hostility towards misconduct. Yet here she paced Gabrelle`s floor her fingers entwining each other with a forceful delirium that was leaving her speechless. Gabrelle stood up and went to face her.

"Let`s start with a proper introduction." Gabrelle softened her attitude to the helpless soul that totally disrobed her austere personality, leaving her emotions raw and naked. "Gabrelle St. James." Gabrelle extended her hand in a warm welcome and she hoped that this was going to be enough to forge a temporary relationship of smoothness.

She was taken astride as the old woman took her hand with a comfortable ease. "Countess Arabella Constantina Debracus." It was quite the mouthful but it shook Gabrelle and left her with her jaw literally hanging. She had known that this person had been a representative of grace and ties with money that went through wads of generations but now she faced a woman that was tidy in the sands of time by she was now lost and perhaps for the first time as at a disarray that her money could not help her.

"It`s my honor to meet you, Countess." Gabrelle curtseyed and she was flaming in nerves but thankfully she managed to cool her manner to face this royal woman with dignity and poise. "How can I serve you?"

The countess stopped pacing and took to the spare chair. Her pride had flooded and drowned in a death of humility. Gabrelle moved her chair to sit across from her and looked eagerly into her face. This was exactly the encouragement that she needed.

She cleared her throat. "This is about my two sons: Samsidion and Thaneus." She paused and her eyes shifted to give off a dark aura. Gabrelle gave her a slight encouraging smile and nodded her head, prompting the countess to relay her story. "Yellow fever had them stumbled into the top of the gallows of death." Her expression was void of horror but it was the non-complexity of her facial expression that told Gabrelle this woman was haunted by a fear that was unbecoming to her. "They brushed with death but it was a doctor that brought them back and now they are all fine."

Gabrelle was naïve when it came to the human mind so she dumbly asked, "So you have not come for my elixir that soothes yellow fever."

"Oh no dear child. Like I have said that my boys are doing just fine."

"Then I am my Lady, I do not understand the purpose of your visit." Gabrelle rose from her chair and went to pour herself a ready-made pot of cool herbal tea." She did not want to offer but politeness crept and the words slipped easily over her mouth. "Can I get you a cup of tea?"

"That would be lovely thank you." It was a surprise but Gabrelle did not make a mountain out of molehill and grabbed the spare tin mug which was less untidy as the one she used. She poured the remaining green liquid in the mug and gave it to the Royal woman. Another astonishment as the countess sucked, slurping with obvious pleasure.

"This is a refreshingly wonderful blend." Gabrelle smiled; she felt warm that her taste was appreciated.

"It is my special blend. To calm one`s aura and to cool down the body amidst those belligerent rays of the powerful sun."

"You are educated with finesse dear child." Gabrelle had to blink her stupefaction. The Countess had gone from snobbery to a human being that heralded simplicity and awakened to humanity but she said nothing about this instead she asked. "Countess, if you are not here for the yellow fever medicine, then why are you here?" A frisson of fear fizzled through Gabrelle and she hoped that this was not a set up from the clergy people who accused her of witch craft. The countess leaned forward and grabbed onto Gabrelle`s tiny wrist.

"My dear child, my boys are in the peak of good health but they are diminished in light." Gabrelle held onto her every word but she made no sense. She waited for her to continue and she did not disappoint. "They have changed. There is no longer a happiness in my home. My Lady in waiting advised me to come here and see you about this matter before it is too late." Despair rose from within her to draw out the living light out of the countess.

Gabrelle was unsure of how to approach her with words that would help restore her faith. "Truly I am not sure of how I can be of any help." She concluded helplessly. "I am no medical doctor. I have just learned a little of cures from my own mother."

"That is, it," the countess was full of glee. "Maria, my lady in waiting," she felt compelled to explain so that Gabrelle could grasp the entire picture by the hearing of her words. "She actually said that it was your mother Hannah that was the most powerful witch in the county."

Gabrelle had to laugh out aloud. It was just crazy and funny talk. Her mother was nothing extraordinary and like Gabrelle had learnt from her was the special brews of tea, the portents of salves and herbal potions of medicine to help the sick. "I beg your pardon countess but my mother was just an ordinary woman that helped the poor sick." Gabrelle flung her hands in the air and shook her head from side to side. "She was no witch. We do not believe in the phantom of witch craft."

"Ai child but it is alive and it becomes us." Sincerity plunged from the deaths of her eyes. The greyness was dull but she was off sound disposition. There was an angle of truth that kept her honest but Gabrelle knew that this was just a fable. She knew her mother to be just someone that was handy to step in during a crisis.

"I will tell you a story child." The countess was eager, hopeful as her words and her gestures was beguiling to the eager listener. Gabrelle had little choice but to pay heed to what was coming next. "My husband, the Count bless him had wanted a son for decades after we were wed but I could not hold any baby in my womb for more than

five months." She paused, only to welcome Gabrelle`s attention. "Four babies all die before they can take a breath into this world until Maria brought a brew made of all terrible mixtures but no matter how bad it was, I took the dose as instructed. My first boy Samsidion was the first that saw the world and took flight into living. Two years later my second boy Thaneus blessed us once more." Gabrelle held onto her words; wanting to know more of the miracle that had happened. "This elixir came from a powerful witch named Hannah St. James."

"Hannah St. James was my mother`s name" Gabrelle whispered, not encouraged to support the words of the Countess. "But she was no dark witch. She was good, pure and kind." The repudiation was like clear cut glass and Gabrelle could not listen to anymore that would blasphemies her beloved mother. She covered her ears like an adamant child in a blaze of a tantrum.

"Ai, it is true child and that is why I am here today to talk to you. The entire village and nearby villagers spoke of the accident that your parents had befell. The wheels on their cart had come off and they flung off; all breaking their necks."

Tears streamed down Gabrelle`s face staining her cheeks and the mountain of her pain came to surface as she sobbed heartily. "I beg you Madam, please stop this." She started to choke on her tears and she buried her hands over her face.

The Countess was feeling the pangs of the way she conducted herself and reached to rub Gabrelle on her back. "I wish not to hurt you dear child but it is my way to allow you to remember the good that your mother has done for the helpless like me."

With her hands still buried over her eyes, Gabrelle was still in denial. She would not allow anyone to ruin her mother especially now when she was buried and gone. Eventually she removed her camouflage and showed her tearful eyes but she had grasped the context of vehemence and it showed as the green gables of her eyes flared up. "I think that your welcome is expired now Countess Arabella." Her voice quivered but she never faltered. Gabrelle wanted to screech profanities at this over privileged woman but as her station was of the impoverished, she would be hung for being disobedient and prudent to aristocracy.

The Countess looked horrified. "Dear child, it is not my intention to hurt you but I do so need your help." She sounded absolutely desperate and she was sorry that she had replayed that horror for Gabrelle. Even the Countess was reduced to tears and she sniffled on her handy lace, white handkerchief. "You are but my last hope to save my boys." This caught Gabrelle`s attention.

"Countess, I really don't see how I can help you." It was good that Gabrelle was a person that could compose and forgive easily. "I only know healing with potions that my mother had taught me. If your sons are cured of yellow fever, then there is nothing I can do."

"There is," Her tone was flying on insistence. "It would be better if you come back to the castle with me." A million reason flew inside Gabrelle`s head like buzzards to a carcass. There was no way that she could go with the Countess and yet she heard herself saying.

"Yes, I will come." Clear, definitive and Gabrelle was shaken that she had agreed so easily yet her mind was traumatized and had elected to refuse. Her mouth and her tongue remained unrelentless when it came to defiance.

CHAPTER EIGHT

They started off almost immediately. While the path was bumpy, Gabrelle enjoyed the luxury of the buggy. It was lined in a crimson silk and seats were comfortable and spacious. The footman had helped her in as though she were a real Lady and while she expected the Countess to furnish her with more information, the journey was peaceful with serene quietness. Gabrelle had nothing much in sustenance and she was grateful when they took a break at a lively stream and the Countess produced a basket laden with delicious bread, cheese and fruit. Gabrelle was grateful to eat something so delicious and the water was delicious. It had to be collected from a well. After they had eaten, they set out again and Gabrelle closed her eyes to a sweet dream. She saw her family and while there were just glimpses, she felt warm and fuzzy. It was her mother Hannah that smiled at her, came closer and whispered something. Gabrelle was stunned into a jumping up swiftly as her whipped to the side allowing her to wince. She was still in the buggy and the Countess too was catching up on deep winks of sleep. Night was creeping up fast and Gabrelle was worried that they would get lost in the piety of the forest but she was counting on the Countess`s horse man to know his way. As luck would have it the carriage came to complete stop just as the deepening darkness stepped in to invite the night. Gabrelle moved the curtain covering the tiny window and saw that they stopped before a castle. It was dark but there was inviting lamps lit at the stairs offering them a warm welcome. Once both the Countess and her alighted the carriage, the Countess motioned her to come inside.

"Come dear, welcome to my home." Gabrelle gasped, unashamed that her awe was explicit and inspired by the beauty. The hallway was lit by lamps and the scent of lavender perfumed the home. It was the first time that Gabrelle had attended a place of living so grand. She felt a tug in her heart as she recalled her little abode and while the castle was so fancy, she missed her little space. She was removing her coat when she heard the voice of a mystical being. Soft, smooth and enticingly velvety.

"Mother, good that you are back." It sounded close but Gabrelle could not see anyone. In the nick of time the Contessa appeared with a lamp that illuminated the hallway into a spectacular vision. It was how the rich lived and Gabrelle was never resentful but she felt a trite sad that she had to scrimp and save all the time.

"Oh, good mother you are back." A vision of beauty stood before her. A mass crowned with jet black hair, eyes of coal, spitting out flecks of fire. White as the waves of a milky sea and posture of greatness. No smile evoked a welcome and the aristocratic nose was the same as the Countess. It was him the man to whom every woman dreamed to have and to lay with. Her heart skipped many beats as he gave her a hard stare.

"Who are you? Mother!" he hollered. He was angry and Gabrelle felt the pangs of hurt that stowed away within her rise to the surface. He was mad that his mother had brought a peasant into their homes and that caused the pain to flitter and demoralize her. In time the Contessa spoke.

"Dear, you have to meet Gabrelle." The Contessa turned her attention to the young healer and smiled. "Child this is my son; my youngest Thaneus."

Gabrelle was tongue tied and she could not understand why the Contessa was totally avoiding the fact that her son was against her presence being there. Instead, Gabrelle looked once more at the young Count and gave him a weak smile. He reciprocated by giving her a dark, hard stare and totally snubbed her smile. She was not used to this level of rudeness but then again, she was not used to being in the presence of such handsome greatness. When he said nothing, the onus was upon Gabrelle to say something.

"It is a privilege, my Lord." She murmured and was totally flabbergasted that her voice was calm and steady. To her greeting he was still conceited and thought her beneath him as he ignored her and addressed his mother.

He was angry and the darkness was a sharp stench that became visible in his tone of voice. "Mother," he hissed furiously, "We told you that it is not necessary to bring these people into the house."

"You mind your manners boy." The Countess was not having any of his polluted vociferous nonsense in her house. "You will mind your manners when we are receiving company." She took a pause and eyed him suspiciously. "Where are you going?" It was during this moment that Gabrelle noticed that that the young Count was all dressed up in a black evening wear completed with neck tie of frivolous lace. His hair was swept neatly back and held together with a leather strap.

He was offering no compensation of a tiny smile for his impolite mannerism; instead, he gave Gabrelle another hard look. "You have done wrong mother. This temptation will be too much for Sam." With that the devilishly, handsome Count left the hallway in a flurry of a raging storm. Gabrelle was left with her mouth hanging and she had one thought that finally slipped out from beneath the smoky clouds that blanketed her always formidable and reasonable thoughts. She decided to confront the Countess.

"Contessa, you said that both your sons were in trouble but it seems to me that your son is in good health."

The Countess took a few minutes to digest Gabrelle`s statement and then she replied as comfortably as she could. "Sometimes child the body is functional but the mind is on another platform of loneliness." Gabrelle did not understand nor did she appreciate these words of lost wisdom. "Let us get some dinner. Cook has already prepared a mini feast in your honor." Gabrelle followed her meekly but her head pounded with so many questions. As they got closer to the dining area, the aromatic blending of spices and food assaulted her tummy reminding her that she was hungry. The meal was a far cry from what the obligatory bread and soup that she always ever dined on. Tonight she savored a succulent rabbit, tenderized in a broth that had baby vegetables that she suspected was picked up freshly. The bread was homemade and the taste churned cream was evident as she took the first bite. While she sank her teeth into all this creamy goodness, her mind was bothered about the meaning of her presence at the castle and even though the food was fit for a King, Gabrelle could not help but wonder if she had made the biggest mistake by accompanying the Countess. As she swallowed every delectable morsel she wondered when was the exact time that she would choke.

CHAPTER NINE

Gabrelle stretched out her legs, languorous with laziness and yawned with her eyes shut tight. She was a hundred percent convinced that she was having the most luxurious dream of her life. She so wished that she would go on deeper into this slumber and never wake up from it. The sun beat upon her face and as the disturbing warmth reached an intense peak, Gabrelle`s eyes finally snapped open. Her eyes flew open in a shock. She was not locked into a dream; she had spent the night in a castle. In a flash the events of the day before poured openly into her recollection. She felt no fear; just a trite discomfort. This expanse of repudiating luxury was not her home and while she felt well rested and full of finesse, she missed her tiny wooden and broken home. Fragmented for her family had perished and wrecked because the structure was weak from the beating of all the wedding conditions. The rains had melted the wood to a soft mush while the sun had caked and cracked the feeble assembly. Yet the memories were vivid and awakened her inner joy. There was just no place like home. She awoke from her slumber and satiated in her reality. The fact that she was here still confused her. A glance at the youngest Count and there was nothing wrong with him. She hated that the Countess was being so evasive and she wanted to spend as less time here as possible. She was not used to all of this luxury. She got out of the bed and with disdain she used the wooden pail to relieve herself. This was not the way she conducted her affairs and there was no way would she allow any servant to clean up after her. She tidied her room and made a mental note to ask the Countess to change her accommodation. After she was satisfied that the room assigned to her was spotless, she carried the pale and found her way down the steps and into the yard. It was a quiet morning and Gabrelle wondered if the folk around the castle went to a church nearby. She of course never attended any place of worship as her parents always preached the sanctity of humanity. She offloaded her pail and left it outside the castle. Her tummy growled and before breakfast she needed to have a solid conversation with the countess. The castle screamed silence which was more deafening than anything screech that she had ever heard. The cook worked silently in the kitchen and did not even acknowledge Gabrelle`s presence. She would just have to wait on the Countess because it seemed that everyone in this cold place was oblivious the other people breathing. Gabrelle was unwillingly informed that the Countess was in the study, having her morning relaxation before her day started. Gabrelle asked questions silently; only to herself which had no answers. If the Countess had just risen from slumber, then why would she want to rest some more. She followed the explicit directions of the chamber maid and went in search of the library. The castle was massive and the stone walls were too thick to hear of any communication from behind the walls. She finally came to a closed door at the end of the castle. She knocked and without awaiting a response she pushed open the door. The countess was seated on an elongated bench that was dressed with a material that resembled the hide of a cow. Only this was properly treated and coated with a shiny color that resembled the vibrancy of mud in the rain. The library boasted a plethora of books that had Gabrelle famished for reading. If anything, she loved about this castle was the array of books that were waiting for an eager student to just devour its contents. Gabrelle offered the Countess a light smile.

"You are up child." A statement of fact that made Gabrelle realize that the Countess was ringing in nervous tension. "Come on in and sit. Cook is busy with breakfast and will serve us soon enough."

Gabrelle just jumped into the question that was eating up her soul and having met the one son, she was eager to know the other. "Will your sons be joining us for breakfast?" Gabrelle asked politely and almost instantly the older aristocrat was shaking her head in negativity.

"Unfortunately, that would be a definite no." Gabrelle wanted to fling out the question as to why and she could not help but wonder if the Counts felt that she was not suitable to nest in their tree. Instead, she asked,

"Contessa, I really don't see the purpose of my stay here." She took a pause, sucking in her breath. "Your son seems to be at the peak of good health." I think that perhaps I should go back home." It was on the tip of her tongue to speak out because of the compounding irritation when the door hinges cried madly as it was open. It was then that Gabrelle was silently introduced to the elder son of the Countess. While his younger brother resembled him, he walked in with an austerity that trembled fear from the able, the weak and especially the strong.

"Mother," he bellowed, ignoring Gabrelle as though she was a speck of dust in the wind. "Thaneus has just informed me that you have brought a stranger into our home. Do you know of the repercussions of this." Then he turned to me. His eyes were floating in a sea of fire as they raged. He was like no other human being that Gabrelle had ever encountered and when he opened his mouth, he was snarling and growling at Gabrelle. At the blink of a thought Gabrelle would assume and take him for an animal. As he looked at Gabrelle, his eyes grew fierce in the globe of fire. She was suddenly feeling small and terrified and without course of thought, Gabrelle stood up. He came closer and growled loud, sniffing her purposefully and in a flash like lightning he opened his mouth and his teeth came out as fangs. Gabrelle clutched forcefully at her chest. It dawned on only as stories that had been whispered into her ear. Count Samsidion was undead and he was about to have her for his breakfast. Gabrelle was entranced and all that pounded her mind was that this would be the end of her life.

CHAPTER TEN

"Samsidion, I order you at once to calm down." The Countess was conflagrant in her authority as she admonished her elder son to stand down. He looked pained and as Gabrelle eyes peeled into his, she saw the agility in his stride. He stepped away but he had fumes of fire alighting of his eyes. At a close look Gabrelle had seen the fire spurting of his eyes. He wanted blood and she was a readily available offering.

He was glaring at her and then he steered his focus onto his mother. "I told you mother never to bring a temptation into this house." His voice was in deep competition with a booming roll of thunder. He was magnificent in height and stature and just like his brother her wore his slightly longer hair in a tie behind his neck. He wore a white, silky shirt that had frills of lace at the sleeves. His black trousers fitted him snug and the ensemble was complete with white stockings holding his pants firmly against his flesh. He was indeed a statue of magnificent molding but he was dead to the world and only existed in the night. Gabrelle`s eyes were finally opened to see the broad picture that the Countess had difficulty drawing upon an easel. She lowered her head and knew that for now she was safe. From the corner of her eye, she knew he was watching her, relishing in the fumes of her sweet blood. It took him a few minutes to seethe until he stormed out of the room. So much for a fairy tale and Gabrelle allowed herself an exhalation of relieved breath. She swallowed the lump that was seated at the base of her throat. It was apparent that the Countess had high hopes upon an ability that she knew that she never had. She sooner skips the breakfast and be on her merry way as light would be her friend for many hours. She knew that the undead thrived out of the blatant sunlight and at that moment she considered escaping into the outside sunlight.

"I cannot help you Contessa," Gabrelle heard her words that were an unbearable inaudible whisper. "This is not a forte that is known to me." She waited for the Countess to speak up and when she said nothing Gabrelle had to take the proverbial bull by its horn and speak her mind. "I do not condone this way of life and neither do I encourage anyone to live out a life like this."

Her words were burning away at the Countess`s ear until she could bare no more. "You mean you do not condone my children being monsters."

Gabrelle nodded her head, despite witnessing the cold pain that burdened the older woman. It was easier to be truthful. "They are good boys." The pleading from the Countess could not go unnoticed and Gabrelle felt pity generate from within her for this poor woman`s demise.

Gabrelle was adamant even though she felt the loss of the other lady. "You have to stop this. The talk of people dying from the holes at the side of their necks are true. They now live a life of hunters; a resemblance of wild animals ripping the life force of a living soul." Lone tears fell from the ducts of Gabrelle`s sharpened green eyes. "I cannot help you." The words were spilled with kind vehemence but in the attitude that she needed to be respected.

The Countess rose and came to stand before Gabrelle who sat down when her knees were going to a jelly incapacitated state. She squatted before her which was unbecoming for an aristocrat. "Contessa please," Gabrelle begged her, clearly embarrassed that this old lady had succumbed to beg before a peasant. "Collect yourself and brave yourself to the truth. Your boys are lost and gone forever."

"I will give you anything that you ask of me." The guttural plea plumed from the depths of her soul. She did not mask her anguish and her tears fell so freely. "Don't you see the beauty of you being here. It was your mama that gave life to my boys and it is befitting that you should help them thrive." The sympathy that Gabrelle felt for the Countess was fine tuning into a mild anger.

"I have told you before that I am no witch and I am no miracle worker. I just aid the ailing poor so that I can have a little to survive." Gabrelle could not see in any way as to how she could change the circumstance of two men that merely existed. "They are already dead and I have no measure of bringing them to a normal life." Gabrelle shook her head with sadness. "It is only the Gods that can make a life sustain the life upon this earth."

The Countess was sobbing miserably. "You were my last hope that I was counting upon. Please you must try and help me salvage this mess."

From the way that the Countess spoke Gabrelle knew that this situation was hidden. "I know that we can never revive them but they can continue their lives if only they can survive the light."

The bomb had exploded and Gabrelle was flared with passion. "What about all the blood that they would steal and suck out another innocent person`s life." The Countess seemed unmoved by her passionate plea and Gabrelle understood that these aristocrats were selfish and worried only for their own well-being. "I am no witch and marvels are beyond my capabilities." The Contessa was inconsolable and Gabrelle hunger had faded. "It would be best if you allow and afford me my passage of safety back to my home." Gabrelle got up and slipped out of the castle, hoping that she would not meet anyone of the undead Count`s but the niggle in her head was that had Count Samsidion been of normal circumstance then he sure would be a catch and an eye pleaser for many girls in the county.