The Voyage of Galilea

The snow is deep and thick and vast on the Carpathian Mountains. The cold was unbearable. I could feel my blood freezing in my veins as I traveled among the mountains of Transylvania. The North wind blew incessantly. The winds whispered a desperate song, a warning. Yet, I was driven. I felt as if I had been seduced by sirens. I couldn’t nor wouldn’t stop.

Ten years had passed since Count Dracula was, again, destroyed by Van Helsing. Yet, the vampire clung to his pitiful existence. He refused to leave the world. Sunset after sunset he would rise from his crypt. Sunrise after sunrise he would return to his dark dungeon. Only Aleera would keep him company through the years. Only Aleera. Aleera who was wife, temptress, slave and queen. Aleera, insatiable, hungry.

I stopped in the middle of the forest. At a distance, I could see Castle Dracula. All was ice. Snow. Solitude. Dead leaves. It was too dark. The north wind kept blowing. It tried to persuade to go back, but I only wanted to move forward. I had to find him.

Branches were covered with ancient moss and spider webs. The road to the fortress was blocked with piled branches. I must confess I was afraid to die. I was afraid that I had made the wrong choices. My whole life passed in front of my eyes. I thought about what I had gained, what I had lost, what I had missed.

I walked for what it seemed like hours.

I crossed a bridge, half broken. I prayed to the heavens to protect me. The castle was now in front of me. Two huge towers. A formidable door, carved with ancient symbols. All of it was surrounded by ice. I could see that burned cables hung from the tallest tower. Once, the Count had tried to give his young eternal life. He had failed.

The main entrance was locked. It was always locked. To me that gate symbolized Vladislaus himself. Strong, yet so jaded, so dark, so damaged. I so wished to change that. There I was. No turning back. I had nowhere to go.

I had to climb a huge oak tree in order to have access to the window right above the entrance. It was so dark. A couple of torches were lit. The corridor was empty. I jumped inside and carefully climbed down until I reached the stone washed foyer. I felt small. I felt so insignificant amidst the majestic hallways. Yet, all was so damp, so sad. Count Dracula lived in misery. Little remained of the glory of the old days. There were tapestries on the walls, all torn, half burned. I just remained still, waiting for a sign as of where to go next. My feet just moved without direction.

I entered a room which had two huge portraits of two stunning young women. One had dark hair and wore a choker. Her lush green dress made her seem like a sea queen. It was Verona, Dracula’s eldest bride. The other painting was that of a younger woman, far more beautiful than Verona. She had golden hair which fell over her shoulders. She looked sad, as if she knew her existence both as a mortal and immortal would be cut short. That was Marishka. Both ladies were once noble. They had exquisite lineage. The Count had taste, no doubt. Death was kind to them. Death and blood made them beautiful.

-“I almost relish in the thought that they are gone and I survived….”

I turned around and stumbled. There she stood, Aleera. She could not have possibly looked more stunning. She was a goddess, dressed with a blue robe. It was very flimsy and I could see through her dress. She had a generous cleavage. Her breasts were full and soft, luscious as forbidden fruits. Her nipples were blood red. Her hair was piled up in her head and she had lovely rings of hair framing her face. I dared not speak. My mind wandered off, lost in her essence. I wanted to say something clever, but my words were frozen in my throat. I shivered.

-“…I have my master’s undivided attention now…These have been the best 10 years of my existence. My master and I, finally, with no other bride to compete with. No obeying the rules of the Queen….”

-“….Al…Aleera…I…I….” I stuttered.

-“Hush, my love…You are welcome here. We will try to offer you gracious hospitality. We have not received any visitors since Van Helsing and the cursed princess. Stay…Come…let me take a look at you…Your clothes…they are different….”

-“I come from the 21st century, Aleera. My name is Galilea Houston….I…I…really don’t know what to say….For a moment I thought the castle was deserted…I…”

-“You don’t have to say anything….My, you are pretty…Let me touch you…”

I quivered at her touch. Her long fingernails drew a trace up and down my cheeks…She touched my forehead and I started to sweat in a most strange way, it was as if my pores opened at her mere touch…Her eyes were so beautiful, green and blue and so big and lively. I closed my eyes as she touched my neck. Her fingers caressed my earlobes and I melted with pleasure….

She whispered in my ear, “I can tell you enjoy this as much as I do….I wish I could tell you that I had waited for you…I dreamed you Galilea. Her tongue went inside my ears and I moaned freely with pleasure. She stroked my hair so softly as she showered my neck, my face, my temples with kisses…She licked my neck. A most common way for vampires to show affection. I let her do. She got closer and closer to me and I could feel her breasts against mine.

-“Galilea….Galilea…I have waited for you….You are perfect…and intelligent…and virginal….I shall enjoy your company so much….”

My eyes were closed. Her hands roam around my body. She put her hands on my breasts. She took away my jacket and let it go to the floor. I could barely move. Certainly this sultry creature had hypnotized me…What did she want from me?

Yet, I knew that I had arrived at the right place…perhaps at the right time…Maybe I have found what I was looking for…I knew not…For the first time in my life, I felt free. I had nothing to fear…I repeated that like a Buddhist chant…”I have nothing to fear…”

Aleera pulled away momentarily. Her hand still clasped my waist. When I open my eyes, I was trembling…Her lips were moist with her own saliva. Her nipples were hard. I could not help but looking at her body…Never in my life I had felt so drawn to another woman.

-“How come you are not afraid, Aleera? How come you don’t ask questions about how I ended here…?”

-“We are time-travelers ourselves, my precious…We do it all the time…It’s one of the few diversions my master and I still enjoy occasionally…”

-“How do you know I don’t have a silver stake hiding someplace?”

-“You would have used it already if you felt I was any threat to you. Instead, you allowed me to give you pleasure…”

She paced around the room and then she looked at me gravely.

-“Come…Let me show you something…”

I was not all prepared for what she did next. She took her robe off, revealing a body that was as pale as the moon. Soft like a mermaid’s song…and voluptuous like sin itself. I could not help but wash her body with wanton gazes…She smiled and closed her eyes. Her legs parted a little, revealing a Mount of Venus that reckoned to be touch. Her hair was soft, pale, groomed…She had the body of a courtesan.

Then I noticed…Right above her abdomen, close to her heart, the mark of the stake that once tried to kill her. Vampires certainly can heal themselves, yet this scar refused to disappear…

-“I still have nightmares, Galilea…There are nights in which I wake up screaming, wishing so badly Anna were still alive, so I could kill her with my bare hands…”

Little is known of Princess Anna Valerious. Her story was mixed with Hocus Pocus, and superstition, legends. To her people she was Joan of Arc. Some say she still comes out at night to dance, entrancing the passing voyager. Truth is, she died trying to saver her lover. Depending what facts you chose to believe, she saved Van Helsing from permanently live like a werewolf.

-“She was like all the pretty girls in her family…She was after my master…She wanted him…”

-“Aleera, I know very little about Princess Anna and her ancestors, but I doubt she would have feelings for the Count…Trying to give your children life, Dracula tortured her father and her only brother…”

Aleera laughed. She had a childish, infectious laughter. She covered her body momentarily and she walked towards me.

-“Nonsense…She came here to this very palace. She was the guest of honor for the All Hollow’s Eve Ball in Budapest ten years ago. The servants were ordered by my master to find her a suitable gown for the evening. He handpicked the dress she wore that night. It was red, painfully red. Her waist was reduced to the minimum with a corset. She looked so desirable…He wanted her so much…The master danced with her all night and he ignored me completely. My gown was prettier a thousand times. He didn’t look at me…He had me attending to the other guests…He had hypnotized her so she would do whatever he commanded…I don’t think she needed much hypnosis. If you met my master you’d understand…”

I said nothing.

“I don’t want your pity, Galilea…I have moved on. The master has forgotten Anna. He holds affection for no one but himself. I feel sorry for him…He has been reduced to nothing, and yet, he lives with the memories of his past, his glory, his summer palaces…”

Aleera came dangerously close to me again. She took my hand and placed it against her left breast. I touched it. Her tongue slightly touched my lips. My lips parted. I wished to speak, but I was muted by Aleera’s kiss. Her lips moved steadily over mine. Her tongue found the tip of mine. She teased it. My whole body trembled like leaf resisting the winds.

“You’ve come to see him, my love…haven’t you…?”

“Yes….oh yes…..” I was moaning to her delight.

“You shall have it…I welcome you to this castle and to our lives, Galilea…”

At that moment, the foyer filled with light. Gigantic stone torches, which I had somehow passed on my way, lit up, lively flames rose from the pit and the heat was almost consuming.

“The master has awaken, Galilea…Come, let’s greet him…”

Aleera took my hand in hers and caressed my knuckles. She smiled at herself. I was still shivering.

Minutes passed and it seemed like a whole millennium. We heard steps. There were more steps. So, then, two servants opened the doors which led to a different wing. Walking towards us with a black cloak, Count Dracula himself made his appearance.

I felt faint and Aleera put her arm around my shoulder. Tears of joy ran down my face, and yet I was paralyzed. The beauty of the Count was almost spiteful, infinitely cruel. He had changed so much. The print I worshipped so much for so long, did not do him justice at all. He was unbearably elegant. He was tall. He was dressed entirely in black. His jacket had touches of gold. The cape covered much of it. His hands had leather gloves. I found myself drooling at the sight of this man. He was a bird of prey, and my eyes were hunted. I wanted to be hunt. I wanted to be found.

Aleera soon left my side to meet her master’s embrace. I felt a strange kind of jealousy. Yet, my body was non-responsive. My heart was speaking loud and clear, and yet my mouth was silent.

The Count stopped barely a couple of feet away from me. His hair was now pulled back on a pony tail, elegantly groomed. A few strings of hair came down sleek, spicing up his already handsome features.

I was not prepared for this. No fairy tale, no legend was never, ever so beautiful. No man, no woman ever looked like this. Only the Devil could possibly look so tempting. Oh, Lucifer, only once let me touch him!

And he heard my plea.