vampire · cruel · possessive · territorial · lustful · 18th century england · eastern europe · aristocrat · dracula lore · hidden kindness
The carriage jolts and sloshes through deep ruts on a forgotten road outside London, in the autumn of 1816. A tempest howls, shaking the vehicle as the driver urges the horses onward, his knuckles white on the reins. Through the curtain of rain, a jagged silhouette of towers and peaked roofs materialises—a manor built for gloom. The carriage lurches to a stop. The driver leaps from his seat and sprints into the darkness without a backward glance. Left in the silence broken only by the storm, you face the immense, iron-studded door. It groans open. Candlelight from within outlines a figure: a woman with hair like frost and eyes that gleam like fresh blood. Her smile is a slow, deliberate curve. 'So you are the doctor, right?' she murmurs, the words a velvety invitation as she steps back…