The Duchess of Arad Chapter 1 Dr. Richard Harrison wanted to find things that no one had previously discovered. He certainly did. by Jenny Sugar Copyright © 2012 Jenny Sugar All Rights Reserved.

Dr. Richard Harrison shut off the ignition of his rented car and let out a sigh of relief. Up and down twisting, torturous roads winding all over the Carpathians for the past three months was beginning to sap even his own usual optimistic nature. He got out of the car and walked over to the edge of this particular road and admired the view. That was about the only pleasant thing so far in this year’s expedition — the incredible beauty of this part of Romania.

His doctorate was in Medieval History, specializing in Eastern Europe. One of his ancestors was Hungarian on his mother’s side, so he’d first taken to genealogy in high school, and then from there dived into history with a passion. Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria had all had their own visits from him over the years.

He’d learned rudimentary bits of language in each area, picking up more Hungarian than any other. The Eastern Romance languages were all descended from the Vulgar Latin spoken in Roman times there when the area was called Dacia. Learning all this in history courses was one thing; but picking up languages and speaking clearly in them proved to be a challenge for Richard.

He was deep in the mountains at the moment, where often roads were merely a suggestion rather than anything certain. He was hoping to find ruins or even a castle not picked over by tourists. He had two cameras along and tons of memory sticks for them to record all of his travels.

He snapped some photos of the scenery, then grinned and set the auto-timer on the camera and set it on the hood of the car. He backed away, waiting for the click.

The camera captured a smiling 26-year-old man of slender build, roughly 5-foot-7 with brown shaggy hair and wide blue eyes. His clothes were a bit rumpled and there were shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep. Finding hostels or even good camping sites were a challenge at times. He’d been forced to sleep in the rental far too many times.

He’d asked around, in halting Romanian, if there were any ancient castles or ruins near these mountains and had gathered that there were some ruins near this spot. So, as his last expedition before heading back to America he’d driven up and decided to spend at least a few days exploring.

After hiking for a while he came upon a thick forest, but noticed the trail he was on continued on through into the trees. The trail, as such, was often straight and occasionally he found flattened stones sticking up from the dirt. They looked a bit like cobblestones, which to him was a very good sign.

Before entering the woods he sat down on the remains of a fallen tree near the edge and ate his lunch that he’d brought along from the car. A sip of water from his canteen and he was ready to investigate the forest. He was quite pleased to learn that the trail, while at times almost vanishing, did indeed continue onward through the forest.

Richard had hiked for about half an hour when he started seeing worn stonework. To the untrained eye, the first such evidence of human construction he found might have been overlooked. But to him it was a neon sign in the dark shouting “people built something here.”

He went past a particularly thick grove of trees and brush and finally saw walls. They were mostly crumbling but certain evidence of ancient construction. He took a pad made of graphing paper from his pack and began sketching out a precise map of the structure. After over an hour of trudging around and sketching he came to the conclusion that this had been a small keep or castle. “Maybe five, six hundred years old easily. It could be older, still. This could be a good find!”

One area in particular was well-preserved, much more than the rest. There were some actual walls and rooms — the walls held up by thick oak trees growing around them. Without the trees he suspected that this section, too, would have been crumbled to dust before now.

While prowling around inside one of the partial rooms, Richard found that the flooring in one room was a different colored and different type of stone than the granite that made up the rest. He pried one up with much difficulty and found emptiness. More excited by this find than any in a long time, he pulled several more out and saw he had opened a sealed-off staircase of some sort.

Richard decided to go back to the car and get his tent and other supplies and camp here tonight. It would be dark soon and he was getting quite exhausted. A good night’s rest and he’d tackle the sealed-off room and whatever treasures it might hold tomorrow.

After making sure of the integrity of the nearby walls, Richard pitched his tent near one. He built a small fire and cooked a small meal while thinking about this area and its history. This could have been the castle of some local voivodeship, or duchy, for this local area. Consulting his drawing, he debated on whether it would be called a castle or perhaps just a keep.

He finally put his notes and sketches away and turned in for the night, quite happy that he’d finally found something that perhaps nobody else could claim discovery on.

The next morning Richard awoke refreshed and with a sense of excitement for the day. After a quick cold breakfast he prepared his supplies and worked his way down through the opening and onto the stairs. He had brought a battery operated fluorescent lantern along just for such a purpose. It had been mostly unused on this journey until now.

Richard was naturally cautious by nature, so his exploration was slow and methodical as he could make it. The stairs ended in a large empty room. However, his disappointment was muted by the fact that there were two passages leading out of it, one left and one right. He chose the left and began to explore it first.

The conditions down the dank tunnel were not good, and the stones in some places were eroded away allowing dirt to flood into the hallway. None of it was enough to block his path, however, so he kept going as the hall went on and on. Cobwebs covered the hallway and the dust stirred by his walking filled them with dust. He could tell that not a soul had walked here for hundreds of years, at least.

Richard was nearing what looked like a T-junction in the hall when the block of stone he had just stepped on gave way and he felt himself falling along with the stone and several others around it. He landed, hit his head, and was knocked unconscious. The lantern, still functioning, lay beside his body illuminating another long hall.

Richard came to, coughing a bit from the dust still hanging in the air. His lantern was still on, a development for which he was grateful. He slowly stood and looked around. Apparently the floor he’d been walking across had weakened over the years, and collapsed into this tunnel when his weight hit the right spot.

He looked upward and saw a good-sized hole above him where he’d fallen through. But it was a good ten feet above him and even standing on one of the fallen blocks did not enable him to even have a chance to get back up to where he’d come from. He decided to follow the tunnel that he was now in and hope there was a way out further on.

The crumbling tunnel ended only about one hundred yards from where he had fallen in with an iron-banded oak door. It was in remarkably good shape considering how old it must have been. Richard pushed and pried at it, and finally took a run at it and hit it with his shoulder, hard. It hurt, but it was enough to open the door. With a tumultuous crash the door smashed open, the bulk of it falling over. Dust and pieces of half-rotted wood splinters scattered in all directions.

Beyond the door he found a small chamber, about ten by ten feet at most. In the center of the room, he found a woman. Around her neck was a metal collar attached to a thick chain. The other end of the chain was attached to an iron post rising from the floor.

The woman was not moving at all. She looked to be in her eighties or even older. His portable electric lantern was still working or he’d never have known she was there. He slowly approached her body and noticed she appeared to be either dead or sleeping. His thoughts were puzzled. Who would chain a helpless old woman up in this secret room? And how on earth did they get in and out?

The second that Richard touched the arm of the woman, her eyes snapped open and her hand reached out and grabbed his forearm. He gasped and tried to pull away but her grip was like steel bands. He could not pry her hand loose. Pulling away simply brought her along until the limit of her chain was reached.

He began to feel dizzy and the room began to go out of focus. Soon, consciousness left him and he fell over the woman’s body.

Her eyes opened and she looked around the stone room in puzzlement. She had no idea where she was or, for that matter, who she was. She was wearing a loose-fitting men’s shirt and some very uncomfortable jeans.

She tried to stand, and as she did some of the dizziness receded. The pants wanted to fall but her searching fingers found a belt. She tightened it up and her unruly pants would now at least stay up.

She glanced down and noticed a desiccated body, with some sort of metal collar around the neck attached to a rusty heavy chain. The chain was attached to a post near the center of the room. She studied the body for quite some time but her expression never changed and she didn’t move as she looked down.

The only light was a plastic lantern shining on the floor beside her.

She picked it up and walked around the room, beginning to feel somewhat less weak. She had no idea where she was and trying to remember anything drew nothing but a blank.

She noticed an open door across the room, so, with no other inspiration she picked up the lantern and walked over to it. It had been forced open, obviously. She stepped through and was soon walking down a rough-hewn tunnel of some sort. She came to a collapsed heap of earth and stone.

Looking up, she could see an opening but it was much too far to reach. Without even thinking about it she squatted down and leaped for the opening, a good ten feet above her. She landed safely in a crouch above. She continued on through the ruins, not really looking at anything.

Who am I? How did I get here? Why can’t I remember anything? I am so hungry and cold and I feel strange!

The walls had no answer to her mental query; neither did the trees in the forest as she left the ruins. She found a path, perhaps an animal trail, or maybe the remains of an ancient road. She followed it.

After a time she came out of the forest and stopped where the path crossed a larger and more open trail. Not knowing why, she turned right and followed the wider path, going downhill. She came upon a clearing and nearly walked right into a man. The man was clearly out hunting, carrying a bow. No arrow was knocked, however. She’d been heading the same direction as him when he stopped and she halted, a few feet from him.

The man was speaking to her insistently but she could not understand him at all. At times his words almost made sense but then it became gibberish again. She shook her head each time he spoke and finally he threw his hands into the air and gestured her to follow. He seemed safe enough so she did. There was something enticing about the man but she didn’t know what it was.

He led her for maybe a half-mile and suddenly on the edge of the woods was a crudely-constructed cabin. A woman, much the same age as the man, opened the door as they approached and began to pepper the man with questions. He gestured at the person he had found often during the chatter.

She stood there watching, feeling stranger by the moment. Her hunger was becoming overpowering and she wondered how she might ask the couple for some food. She stared at the woman and the woman stared back.

Slowly the woman stopped talking and just stood there with a slight smile on her face, staring at nothing.
She turned to the man and he looked at her and she almost thought she smelled fear, somehow, emanating from him. She parted her lips and smiled at him without realizing it, and felt an odd sensation in the upper part of her mouth.

The man shrieked and began to pull at his wife and began jabbering. She caught two words repeated often: ‘vampir’ and ‘fugi’. Some ragged memory said that ‘fugi’ meant ‘run’ or maybe ‘escape’.

His terror and obvious intent to run from her triggered something. She felt her senses heighten and before she even realized what she was doing she leaped upon the man and bore him down to the ground. Using one hand she pulled his head to the side and bit into his neck at a certain spot.

Her lips sealed around the wounds she had made and she gulped the torrent of blood greedily. Without even thinking she began to suck hard at his neck, pulling more and more blood into her mouth, which she swallowed as fast as she could. It was so delicious and his struggles to break free caused excitement in her for reasons she could not begin to comprehend.

Soon his struggles ended and he was gone. She felt slightly saddened that it seemed to be over, but she pulled herself up and off of his body. Her own body sang with vitality and she felt strong and so alive, now. Her glance fell on the woman and she was shocked to see her still standing there with the vacant expression.

Instinct, perhaps, drove her to embrace the woman and slowly drain her as she had the man. She did not do it as fast, this time. However, in a short time the woman joined the man, bloodless and quite dead.

After casually tossing the woman aside in what felt like a practiced move, she stood and stretched luxuriously — almost cat-like. A happy smile was on her face and well-being radiated throughout her body.

She still had no conscious thoughts to speak of. For now she was a creature of pure instinct and emotion, it seemed.

Not knowing why, she walked into the small cabin and looked around. Utilitarian and slightly barren, but small feminine touches adorned the three tiny rooms inside. Something led her over to a collection of dresses hanging in the corner on wooden pegs. She pawed through them and chose one without any thought.

She went over to the bed and removed the ill-fitting male clothing and put on the dress. The fit was much better but far from perfect. A small dresser was beside the bed and it had a mirror with a single crack in it. She stared at her reflection without seeming to see it. Her hand picked up a hairbrush and began brushing her brown hair. It felt routine but there was very little conscious thought involved at all.

If she’d been able to process thoughts at the moment, she’d see an incredibly beautiful woman in the mirror, perhaps around age 25 at most. Dark brown hair, full pouty red lips, high and prominent cheekbones, and a slightly pointed chin. Her eyes were a brilliant silvery-gray color.

The window was brightening as dawn approached and the sound of a cock crowing somewhere in the vicinity shot a feeling of annoyance through her body. She had no idea why the sound brought the feeling but it sent her looking for something. The something ended up being a root cellar out behind the cabin. Cramped, musty, and partially full of shriveled potatoes but nonetheless brought relief from the desire to hide.
The dark did not frighten her in the least as she pulled the door shut and within seconds fell asleep.

Richard woke up in pitch darkness blundered around with his arms and hands trying to figure out where he was. He knew he was Richard Harrison now but his memory was still fragmented and hazy. Bizarre images came and went in his mind, but he shoved them aside, not comprehending much of anything he remembered. He felt small lumpy objects all around him and finally lifted one and sniffed it cautiously.

“Potato,” he noted.

He felt around and finally found the slightly angled wooden door and pushed it open and climbed out of the dank hole in the ground. The stars were bright and sharp in the sky. He’d never seen them so clear and so brilliant. He stood staring at them for a long time.

Finally he assessed the area and noticed the house. Circling it, he found two bodies — a man and a woman. The woman’s face was peaceful but the man’s was contorted in horror.

The two bodies made him feel uneasy and more strangely, guilty. He decided to follow the path that ended at the cabin. His body felt completely foreign to him and his thoughts so muddled he just meandered along the path without any clear idea of where he was going. Getting away from the cabin was his only coherent thought.

After walking for over an hour in the dark, Richard gave up and went back in the direction he thought he’d came from. He was lost and quite irritated with himself. He still wasn’t sure what he was doing, or what was going on here. Every time he tried to analyze what had been happening the fuzziness in his head got worse.

Richard walked and wandered about for nearly two more hours and finally found himself back at the cabin again. He stared at the bodies for a short time, and then decided to bury them. Finding a shovel in a dilapidated storage shed near the cabin, he started digging. If he’d been himself he would have been shocked at how quickly he dug a hole big enough to bury both bodies.

He went into the cabin and prowled around, finally entering the bedroom. Upon seeing the mirror he looked into it and the world faded out as if a light switch had been turned off.

The next evening he came to in the same bedroom, lying in the bed. He got up, and looked down, puzzled. He started to touch the large breasts on his chest to see if they were real or if he were hallucinating. Doing this made his head spin and he felt dizzy.

You fool, stop blanking out every time you touch your breasts or look at yourself. You are going to get us killed!

Richard jumped straight up in the air, landed and then spun around; searching for the source of the voice he’d just heard. But no matter what direction he looked, there was nobody visible.

Richard said “Who said that? Where are you?”

I am in your body. As you are in mine. You need to quit running around madly and we need to talk.

Where did you come from? How did this happen?

He sensed amusement for a second before she replied. We… met, in the castle. Do you not remember finding me? I reached for you and then all went dark. I came to myself in my body, but not. And found you in here, as well.

That, I am not sure of. I was grabbing you to feed when this happened.

Feed? He had no idea what she was talking about. Perhaps she was insane, too?

I am a vampire, fool. But, rather than feasting I got… you. A very odd thing, one I do not understand and I have never heard of such a thing happening.

Vampire?! There’s no such thing as…

He sensed a sigh. I have looked into your memories a bit. A strange world you live in. Yes, vampires do exist and I am, or was one. You ARE one, now. You must face that fact and quit trying to hide from the world inside your mind.

He looked down at his body again and shuddered. This has to be a nightmare.

Maria sighed at him and wished she could smack him a few times in the face. She tried to take control of their body and when she almost had it things went fuzzy for both of them.

The woman wandered around the cabin, touching things with a curious expression, not seeming to know what most of them were. After about an hour of sitting and brushing her hair, the woman once again regained her faculties.

Richard’s first action was to drop the hairbrush as if it were a burning ember in his hand. He stood up and the voice returned in his head.

I cannot take control, it seems. It puts us back in some strange state where neither of us controls our body.

Richard grew angry. Look, whoever you are… Maria? You have no right to steal my body! I want you to leave, now.

Maria’s laughter echoed through his head. No right? Leave? Do not be such a fool. Do you think I chose this? I cannot leave this body any more than you can leave this body, Richard Harrison!

Who, exactly are you, where did you come from? And how did this all happen? I think I deserve some answers, here.

Very well. Stop pacing the floor and sit down and I will tell you my story, then.

Richard sat down and waited to hear Maria’s story.