Sisters of the Fallen

Şarpe raised his voice so the sisters could overhear him as he addressed Caine. "You will be back in ten days time to take the sisters back to their home as we planned?" he asked.

"Of course, my lord," Caine agreed. "The Dumanica after next you'll see me struggling up my old arse up this damnable mountain again."

The driver winked at the sisters and slobbered his lips with his tongue at them a final time before cracking his whip sharply against his horse's flanks to spur them around. The beasts galloped away from the castle grounds in fright as if they couldn't wait to be rid of the place. Mirela turned back and looked at the long winding road down the mountain that the carriage departed upon. A single guard at his post pushed the gate closed behind the carriage after it left. There could be no escape for them now, Mirela realized.

Şarpe beckoned the women to follow him into the castle. Loredana trailed after him giddily while Mirela and Bianca followed more hesitantly. Something about this place disturbed Mirela, though she couldn't put her finger on what exactly it was. She supposed she could endure the discomfort for a week and a half if it meant they could win their home back. Mirela took Bela by the hand and pulled her along, using a hold upon her sister's hip to direct the senseless girl on which direction to go.

Şarpe led them through the entryway to a great hall filled with black stone columns stretching up to the ceiling and intricate stained glass windows covering the walls. The images imprinted upon the windows were barely visibly by candlelight but seemed to be commemorating some great military victory. The sisters followed their host through the hall into winding hallways that seemed easy to become lost in. As they walked, Şarpe pointed out some of the tapestries that were of historical note and explained how the stonework had been considered the greatest construction of its kind in Europe when the castle had first been built in the nine century.

Despite its opulence, it looked like ages since the castle had last been cleaned. A fine layer of dust permeated the floor and all the furniture. Cobwebs covered nearly every corner in the castle and hung from the ceilings. The sisters kept having to stop in order to pull away loose webs that became stuck in their hair. Mirela became so distracted tearing spiderwebs from her scalp that she neglected to do the same for Bela. She looked over at Bela groaned with frustration when she saw her sister's hair looked like a web had been spun all around it and movements in her hair made it obvious that some spiders came along for the ride. For the first time, Mirela was glad the girl was completely oblivious. She recalled Bela being deathly afraid of arachnids as a child. Mirela asked the others to wait a moment while she pulled the webs and their creepy, crawly denizens from Bela's hair until she was reasonably clean. Oddly enough, the webs didn't seem to cover or affect Şarpe at all though he walked directly in front of the sisters.

Loredana squealed in fright as she felt something scurry between her feet. She looked back and saw a large, hairy rat with a long, worm-like tail running down the hallway. She turned pale and looked like she might faint for a second before Şarpe turned and smiled at her, setting her cheeks to blushing again. Even brave Bianca recoiled at the sight of the rat.

"Disgusting, filthy little creatures," Bianca remarked. "No surprise to find them here."

Loredana tried to put on a brave face. "Don't be silly, sister," said Loredana haughtily with her hands on her hips. "Show me a castle this size that doesn't have a single rat in it."

"Oh, there are definitely rats here," Bianca said as her eyes bored into Şarpe's back.

Şarpe paid the creatures no mind. The vermin were so far beneath him that their presence didn't even deserve his notice. He turned a corner and they passed by an ornate set of doors built beneath an archway that seemed to lead down to some underground area. A large iron padlock hung outside of the bar that connected the double-doors and kept them locked in place.

"What is down here?" Mirela inquired curiously.

"The family crypt, of course," explained Şarpe. "Eight generations of noble Turenaus rest down there in addition to the interred remains of the family that lived in the castle long before our time. I'm going to ask that you not attempt any venture below. The steps leading down have fallen into disrepair due to age and are quite dangerous to descend."

"Why is it locked from the outside?" Bianca wondered aloud.

"Excellent question, my lady," Şarpe answered quickly. From his tone, Bianca couldn't tell if he was being serious of having fun with her. "Though we are difficult to reach this high up the mountain, we have seen bandits from time to time and we have no soldiers or guards garrisoned here. We are not stocking any wealth in these crypts, but there are some family heirlooms stored down there that might be construed as precious though they are quite worthless to anyone but those in our family. Surely you ladies can sympathize with not wanting to lose your most loved possessions."

"I surely can, my lord," said Loredana. "I have to say I'm surprised any bandits would attempt a robbery with you here." Şarpe smiled toothily at her and struck a manly pose with his chest puffed out while Loredana giggled and clapped her hands in delight.

Bianca rolled her eyes up to heaven in reaction to her sister's simpering, supplicating tone and the way Şarpe indulged her. Bianca did love Loredana, but that slutty sister of hers would be the death of them all someday.

"This way, my ladies, to the feasting hall," Şarpe said as he indicated with a nod of his head toward a turn to the right down the next corridor.

Bianca noticed a light glowing from a room at the end of the hallway leading the opposite direction. "What's over there?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing of importance to you," Şarpe said too quickly. "This castle is quite large, you have not even seen the half of it yet. There will be plenty more time to explore during your stay as our guests. Come along now, dinner is past ready by now."

"Oh, I'm starving!" Loredana squealed as she walked shoulder to shoulder with Şarpe into the feasting hall.

Mirela and Bianca filed in behind Loredana and Şarpe, pulling Bela along with them. Bianca took one last look at the light in the other direction before following her siblings through a doorway with a large, pointed arch that led the way into the feasting hall. The hall had large windows that stretched up so high you had to crane your next to see the top of them. They normally lent a spectacular view of the forest surrounding the mountain but night had fallen briskly and darkness had overwhelmed the view of the countryside. The windows were draped by enormous purple curtains that billowed down to the floor and appeared to be covered by centuries worth of dust. On the opposite end of the hall, a roaring fireplace with an elaborately crafted mantle provided light and warmth while candelabras on pedestals stood in each corner of the room to help illuminate the great hall. A massive oak table sat atop a tapestry that covered the center of the floor. Ornate high-backed chairs surrounded each side of the table. Though there were enough chairs to seat a party of over two dozen, only a man and a woman sat at the table.

As the sisters entered the hall with Viscount Şarpe, the man sitting at the table pushed his chair out and stood up. "Welcome, my nieces, to Castle Sidexes," the man rasped in a crackling voice that sounded like boots crunching on dead, rotted leaves. He regarded each of the sisters individually and when his eyes passed over Mirela a brief look of surprise came over his face, but the expression disappeared quickly. "I am Count Nicolae Turenau, ruler of Sidexes."

Count Turenau looked older than old. True, his face had no wrinkles marring its features but his eyes were heavily lidded, his face deathly pale, and his voice belonged to a man near his final gasp of breath. Every movement of his body seemed to require great effort, as if the state of living were almost too wearisome for the Count to bear. His scalp was completely bald, though he did cover the top of his head with a small, black felt hat. Turenau sported a small bit of facial hair, merely a short black beard on his chin with no moustache. He wore a long, flowing black robe and a dark cloak. His long, spindly fingers were bridged together in front of his chest and when Bianca looked at Turenau's hands they reminded her a bird of prey's talons.

The woman sitting next to the Count stood up alongside him and linked her arm around his. There could not be a starker contrast between the two. This woman was closer to the sisters' age, probably in her early-to-mid thirties. She was stunningly beautiful. Long, straight black hair colored as dark as night flowed down to her waist. Her face looked as pale as the others living at the castle, which only served to emphasize her piercing blue eyes and blood-red lips. Her body was voluptuous, with slinky curves and a large chest which she highlighted by wearing an extremely low-cut black dress. A slit in the front of the dress reached all the way down to the woman's abdomen and revealed the inside curves of her substantial bosom. The edge of the slit stopped just so to keep from uncovering her nipples though it appeared her breasts might spill out of the dress if she breathed too deeply. The dress clung to her form tightly and stretched all the way down to the floor.

Turenau lifted his free hand toward the woman next to him and introduced her. "This is my wife, the Countess Turenau."

"Pleased to meet you, my girls," said the Countess with a bright, sing-songy voice. "But please, we are family. Call me Viviana. Countess sounds too formal for my ears."

Bianca's eyelids narrowed at this woman who couldn't be more than ten years older than her referring to Bianca as a girl. Girl? I'm all woman, Bianca thought furiously. Who does this cunt think she is, anyway? This Vivianna shouldn't be acting so superior considering that in all likelihood the woman had married up by wedding a decrepit old man decades her senior in the hopes she would earn an inheritance once the Count croaked. For Mirela's sake, Bianca held her tongue. For this time, at least.

Bianca's sisters were far less dismissive of Viviana however. Loredana whispered to herself, "She's soooo pretty." Mirela appeared clearly relieved to find there was another female presence at the castle who could be a natural ally.

After the sisters made their own introductions, Turenau indicated the table with a sweep of his arm and stated, "You must be hungry," he rasped. "Sit and rest yourselves while we eat."

The sisters sat down on the opposite side of the table from Viviana and the Count while Şarpe took a seat next to Vivianna on the other side from where the Count sat. Decanters of wine and water had been placed around the table along with dishes of roasted eggplants and peppers and bowls of berries that must have been picked fresh from the forest. At the center of the table sat a roast beast on a platter with a knife and fork sticking out of its hide. Şarpe carved the beast with the knife and used the fork to lay a cut of the meat on each diner's plate. He allowed the sisters to pour their own portions of wine into their glasses after serving them the main course. Normally this work should have been performed by servants, but in this castle any help was apparently hard to come by.

Mirela began slicing into her meat but when she parted the crisp outside with her knife she noticed that the meal had hardly been cooked. The beast was so pink that it was nearly raw. Loredana and Bianca had noticed the same and looked down at their plates in displeasure as they refused to be the first to try a bite of the main course. Bela played with her food using her fork, regarding the food curiously like she didn't understand its purpose. Mirela didn't want to appear impolite to her hosts, so she cut off a small portion of her meat and lifted it to her mouth. As soon as Mirela took a bite of the beast she nearly vomited up the contents of her stomach. The meat was cold, stringy, and chewy, like it had hardly been cooked at all. After recovering from her gag reflex, Mirela steeled herself and forced the meat down her throat as she attempted to chew on it as little as possible. Mirela chased the meat down her gullet with a long drink of water. The raw, bloody taste lingered in her mouth even after chugging from her water glass. Mirela pushed the meat to the side of her plate and instead picked at the fruits and vegetables, but found those dissatisfying as well. The produce was either overripe and rotting or else shriveled and dried of all flavor. The Turenaus didn't seem to mind the meal at all. They didn't eat their vegetables but they tore into their main course with a nearly bestial fervor.

After a moment, Şarpe raised his wineglass and declared, "A toast! To our guests and new family."

The Count and Countess raised their glasses in answer and so all the sisters except for Bela did so in kind. The sisters murmured a toast in tribute to family and each sipped their wine. Mirela took a deep drink from her glass hoping to wash down the nauseating taste the dinner had left in her mouth. The wine was nearly as awful as the food. It was a dark red color and had a thick and syrupy consistency with an unpleasant metallic taste. Mirela gulped it down quickly and decided she would stick with water for the duration of the meal.

"How do you like the wine?" Turenau asked with amusement. "It is a local vintage quite unique to this realm."

"It is certainly unique as you said," Mirela answered diplomatically. She tried another sip to be polite and had to keep herself from retching as the fluid passed too slowly through her mouth and down her gullet.

Mirela looked over at her sisters as they sampled the wine and noticed that Bianca had no qualms about showing her true feelings for the local vine. Bianca took a sip, swished the wine around her mouth and then immediately leaned over to spit it out on the priceless tapestry sitting beneath them. Bianca spewed the entirety of her mouthful with a single spurt before drinking heavily from her water glass. Thankfully, the Count didn't notice Bianca's impropriety. Loredana didn't seem to mind the taste of the wine at all as she conversed with Şarpe while taking deep sips from her glass. Loredana had never really cared about the flavor of wine as long as there was alcohol in it. The Turenaus didn't seem to mind the taste at all though they were likely used to it. They swallowed the wine greedily with long gasping drinks, even the Count who seemed like a rather sober fellow.

"So please tell me Count, how did your family come to inherit this castle?" Mirela asked conversationally.

"An excellent question, my dear," said Turenau as he leaned back in his chair. "Let me tell you the history of this place. The bones of this castle belong to a Roman fortress the empire constructed when they occupied this land over a millennium ago. A Hungarian prince who ruled this voivodeship razed the fortress after the Romans were forced out and built this castle upon its ruins nearly eight hundred years ago. His name was Alexander Sidexes of course."

While Turenau gave his history lesson, Loredana grew bored. By some great turn of fortune, Lord Şarpe had been seated directly across from her. Loredana worked one of her slippers off her foot and extended her leg until her toes brushed against Şarpe's ankle. The table was so wide that Loredana had to stretch her leg until it was nearly horizontal, which likely would have looked ridiculous if anyone happened to be looking underneath the table. Surprise showed on Şarpe's face for a half-second as he felt Loredana's toe brush against his foot but then he looked over at Loredana and grinned from ear to ear. Loredana gave the Viscount her most winning smile and winked at him.

"The Hungarians were driven out of these mountain holds a few hundred years later of course and the castle sat unoccupied until it was garrisoned during the invasion by those filthy Tatars," continued Turenau. "The Turenaus were a group of brothers who were knights sworn to Pope Clement and the Catholic Church. The brothers and a group of soldiers loyal to them were enlisted to help push back the heathen Mongol hordes who had invaded Christendom. The brothers chose Sidexes as the most likely position where they could repel a sneak attack through the mountain entrance, and their inclination proved correct. The Turenaus fought in many a great battle less than a mile from where we sit, and three of the six brothers were slain."

A heaviness came over Turenau and his eyes took on a far away look, like he was reliving all of these events himself.

"Though they had repelled the Mongols' first three attacks, the Turenaus knew they were fighting a futile war against an innumerable enemy that they were destined to lose. It was only a matter of time before their army was destroyed and then the Mongol horde would pour into Transylvania. Legends tell that in order to defeat a seemingly insurmountable foe, the oldest brother (who was considered the strongest and bravest of the siblings) discovered an enchantment that granted him great power. With the aid of this enchantment, the Turenaus made their stand here on these castle grounds at the mountain path and threw back the invasion. The Mongols were routed so thoroughly that they never attempted to invade the province again. As a reward for his service, the oldest brother was granted stewardship of the castle and was made the first Count Turenau." The Count sank into his chair and sighed. "And we've been here ever since. We've withstood further invasions by Eastern barbarians, local lords trying to expand their territory at their own peril and the slowly encroaching empire of the Turks. This castle has withstood everything... except time."

As Turenau continued with his story, Loredana's foot slowly moved up Şarpe's leg until it rested between the thighs he had spread apart once Loredana's intentions became obvious. Loredana pointed her toes straight out and rubbed them against Şarpe's crotch where she could feel the slight bulge of his prick. The two smiled at each other clandestinely and gulped down their wine while Loredana's foot played with Şarpe's groin. After masturbating his crotch for a moment, the softness between Şarpe's legs morphed into a satisfying firmness that Loredana massaged with her toes. Loredana tried filling the space between her toes with Şarpe's prick but to her delight she found his girth too great for him to fit. Loredana's face became flushed and she felt excitement rising in her chest as her heart beat faster. Wetness seeping out of Loredana's cunny stained her underwear and the seat cushion beneath her. This leaking afflicted Loredana constantly, it seemed something she just couldn't turn off and the slightest provocation made her body react with excitement.

The Countess glanced over at Şarpe and the redhead girl shifting in their seats and smirked as she realized what they were doing. Vivianna looked over at her husband and said, "I think you are boring our guests, darling."

The count chuckled and said, "I suppose once I get started talking I have difficulty ceasing conversation."

"Actually, I find this quite interesting," Mirela remarked. "Where exactly does our family fit into this tale? You said we had a distant relation."

Turenau sighed and a sadness came over his face as he looked directly at Mirela. His story continued, "There was a Turenau sister. A beautiful, lovely sister. She did not approve of her brothers or the... methods they used to win at war. She fled from Transylvania and then of course wedded Viscount Pierocent, a French noble living in Bulgaria. I suppose this must have been nearly four hundred years ago. That family lived in the Bulgarian region up until the time your great-great-grandfather returned to this land to reclaim your ancestral heritage. I believe that is about the time your manor was built on land that the Turenaus had once claimed."