The Chateau le Guin

Time passed since then. The seventh day eventually came and just as always, the sun fell to the east of the skies as the dark of dusk welcomed the night. Everyone was gathered downstairs whilst Richter and Annette took to their chambers to wear their disguises.

Richter stood in front of the tall mirror with his hair slicked back as he wore a long blue coat, a two-piece suit underneath, white pants held in place by a bulky belt, and a pair of black boots. As dashing as Richter looked that night, he found himself struggling to tie a cravat around his neck. Never in his life did he have to dress so extravagantly, for dramatic flair and fashion was never practical in vampire hunting, so it came as a surprise for him when such a moment arrived unexpectedly. He cursed under his breath in front of the mirror as the scarf was an untamable beast compared to night creatures.

"Do you need some help with that?" Annette called out from the open door.

Richter turned to her and all doubts and worries flew out the window as he found himself staring in awe. Annette wore a beautiful green dress with a golden sash around her tiny waist. A pair of golden boots adorn her feet and her hair was fashioned into an impossible hairdo held together with a silk ribbon. Her neck and shoulders lay exposed, but she still kept her rosary choker on its place. Richter was frozen in place, blushing so much he could have been mistaken for a tomato. In her hands gloved with gold she grasped her sword, the scabbard adorned with flowers plucked from the greenhouse. Never has he seen her in a dress and it was as though the world stopped around them.

"Richter, are you alright?" Annette walked closer to him, her eyes of emerald stared ever so beautifully yet obliviously. "Why are you so... red?"

When Richter registered her questions, he slapped himself back to reality before she realized it. "I... don't quite know how to tie a cravat..." He said it so awkwardly.

Annette giggled. "Silly ol' Richter... Here, I'll show you."

And so Annette stood too closely in front of Richter, tying his cravat around his neck with her own hands. Richter could do nothing but watch her in total amazement. She was tad shorter than him, he realized, while they were the exact same height when they first met. Long ago, she used to hate him so much she would prank him whenever chance she gets. Annette eventually warmed up to him after "that incident", where they grew closer since then. Richter managed a smile as he reminisced such sweet memories, just how time flied so fast leading up to this moment.

Annette neatly straightened his cravat at last. "There we go," she smiled as she held her head up to meet Richter and faced the mirror with him. "Would you look at that? Who knew that my parents' old clothes fit us both so well?"

Richter didn't bother looking at the mirror; his eyes were following Annette since the moment she came into his room. "Annette..." he spoke and held her cheek so softly. "You look so... beautiful."

He saw Annette blush, as she held his hand and stared back at him, her eyes sparkled longingly. They leaned toward each other's faces and with bated breath, they push their lips even closer.

"There you are, you too!" Maria burst into the room without warning.

Immediately, Annette pushed Richter off of her and into the bed with such strength he was sent flying. "What are you doing here, Maria?" She asked, composing herself in the process. "Shouldn't you be downstairs with the others?"

"I was, but Sebastian's outside, knocking on the door." Maria explained. "Why were you two kissing earlier?"

"We didn't!" Annette snapped. "And what's this with Sebastian at the front door?!"

Annette hurriedly marched to the front door, passing by Layla and Edouard who narrowly avoid getting in her way, and she opened the door to found Sebastian waiting by the porch, with his spear against a support beam. When they saw each other, Sebastian tried to lighten the mood with a playful smile, something Annette reciprocated with a sour frown.

"What are you doing here?" She said it so coldly a breath from here could freeze him to the quick.

"Richter told me to come here. I heard you guys were raiding the Chateau yourselves." Sebastian replied, gasping in awe of her nightly attire. "Nice dress."

Annette couldn't help but turn her head ever so slowly toward Richter, who was at the stairs, with a foul scowl on her face. "I told you to call off their raid on the Chateau a week ago, did I not? Why is he here?"

"I only asked that he go alone, as followers will surely die in the conflict. And Annette, don't you think he could be of some use to this mission?" Richter explained himself. "He's proficient in killing vampires, same as us. Revolutionary ideal aside, he's my ally and a friend of both me and Maria."

Annette turned to Layla and Edouard, who were still on the living room watching the affair unfold like a dramatic theater play, as she hoped for someone else to make a decision.

"I can see he wields a polearm for combat. A difficult tool, yet he openly holds it with ease. He's more than prepared for an event like this." Layla spoke.

"I'm with her," Edouard followed. "Richter's right. We need all the help we can get."

Annette then returned to Sebastian with a sigh of defeat. "Fine, you can join. But only if you play your part."

"And what shall be my part to play in this great game, m'lady?"

"Here's the gist of our plan." Richter explained. "There are two valuable people attending that party we'll be spying for information. Both of which are powerful vampires. Me and Annette will be joining the party as unsuspecting guests while you, Layla, Edouard, and Maria will be planting bombs around the Chateau to cover our tracks when we escape or in the unlikely event that we get caught. But when the latter happens, we need you all close by. Like I said, we're dealing with powerful vampires here. Masters of magic and the blade. We can't take them down alone, and certainly not with gimmicks of our own."

Sebastian was smiling from ear to ear. "You had my curiousity. Now you have my attention. I've always wanted to sack that pathetic excuse of a Marquis's manor, and you just made that reality."

"Of course, you're trying to make it all about you and your little Revolution." Annette butted in. "Alright, no more small talk. Everyone, let's head down to the basement."

---

Down at the wine cellar, Richter pushed a cabinet full of priceless bottles of wine and champagne out of the way to reveal a narrow pathway that leads off into darkness as everyone looked on.

"This is our way in the Chateau." Annette told them as she lit the lantern in her hands. "Everybody ready?"

The group nodded along. Maria held Annette's hand tightly as they were the first to enter. Followed by Richter and the others. The path was long and the darkness was unbearably frightening, but still they press on, guided by Annette's only lantern.

Layla joined Richter's side and dragged him to the very back of the group where she whispered to him. "What is it between Annette and Sebastian anyway? It's almost as if they had a complicated past."

"Well, they did." Richter whispered back, as to not let the others hear. "They used to be an item, but their conflicting interests only led them apart. Sebastian was deeply devoted to the cause of the Revolution while Annette only wanted to protect her family from that she called hubris. He called her selfish, and she called him a maniac. When Lady Iris passed away, Sebastian couldn't attend the funeral. And so, out of anger, Annette cut all ties with him."

"That's a tad too extreme, don't you think?" Layla replied. "Then why would she bring supplies to the town if she couldn't stand him?"

"Sebastian may be devoted to a cause Annette wasn't, but only they had one thing in common; they just don't want to see people suffer any longer as time went on. They only work together to give the citizens of Croix de Lune hope. Hope that the town will prosper again and there would be no need for the Marquis le Guin interfering in their lives."

Layla smiled. "Then this night must feel so cathartic for both of them. For all of us, really. The most despicable vampires of the world, all in one big house party."

Richter managed a smile as well from that sentiment, and rejoined Annette at the front. Eventually, the group came to a halt. In front of them was a fork in the tunnel. Two paths that lead to a different section of the Chateau. From above them they could hear the faint sounds of music and chatter piercing through the ceiling and the walls.

"We stand at a crossroads, ladies and gents." Richter told them. "From here, it seems we will head our separate ways. Do you all have your bombs ready?"

"Locked and loaded, Richter." Layla replied. "Whenever you're ready."

Annette kneeled down to meet Maria and held her by the cheek. "Stay with them, Maria. Stay close to the others and keep out of trouble, okay?"

Maria nodded. "Okay. But... promise me you'll be safe and you'll come back to us unharmed."

Annette smiled softly as to keep her sister's hopes up. "Of course I will. I have Richter by my side, after all. He'll protect me."

Edouard stepped closer. "I'll look after her as well. I memorized the layout of the Chateau so no need to worry about her and do what you have to do."

Annette took one last look at Maria and the others before she joined Richter and took the path leading right, unsure if she'll ever see her again. Soon after, Richter and Annette climb a staircase to find a doorway at the end of the path hidden behind a painting. Annette opened it to take a peek and saw a group of well-dressed aristocrats talking amongst one another from afar. She turned to Richter and held his hand very tightly.

"Do you have your whip?" Annette asked him.

"Under my coat." Richyer replied. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose." Annette took a deep and careful breath. "Here goes nothing."

She opened the painting wide enough for her and Richter to slip through and closed it shut as quickly as she could manage. Fortunately, none of the guests were facing their direction when they entered and no one the wiser to notice two strangers appear out of nowhere from the corridor.

"That was easy," Richter exhaled.

"Tell me about it..." Annette replied as they walked their way to foyer.

The Chateau was unsurprisingly lavish in its design and architecture. The halls were gilded and coated with gold, carvings of flowers, vines, rocks, pebbles and seashells were etched onto the pastel walls connected in asymeterical curves, while up on the ceilings were oil paintings that capture the beauty of a starry night sky in detail joined by a plethora of chandeliers that glitter in the light.

"Your father built this?" Richter asked, as he stared in admiration.

"What can I say? He's such a talented architect." Annette managed to grin with pride. "Shame we will have to destroy it on the way out."

They joined a budding crowd gathering in the foyer. It was a giant hall with a huge set of stairs at the front leading to the second floor. Upon the steps was the Marquis le Guin. A pale and effeminate man who, much like the noblemen of France at large, wore a ridiculous powdered wig with a big curls on each side. Much like his abode, he wore an extravagant jacket witn ruffles and long neck flaps. Hidden underneath was a long waistcoat, knee height trousers, and white tights. On his gloved hands he held a glass of red wine.

Beside him was a man that Annette was familiar with. He was just as pale as the Marquis, though his black hair and sideburns had grown long and feral like a lion's mane unlike the Marquis. He wore a dark purple jacket, a black elegant suit cowering from within. In his ungloved hand was a cane shaped like a snake. He loomed over the crowd with wide purple eyes that scanned through the area intensely like a predator watching over its prey. Annette couldn't help but instinctively turned her head away from him when he saw her.

"It's him," she told Richter. "Comte de Vaublanc. I can't believe he's more scary seeing him in person."

"Don't get excited yet, Annette." Richter replied, holding her closer by the arm. "By the looks of it, she hasn't arrived yet."

"Ladies and gentlemen," the Marquis commanded the crowd before him. "If you would be so kind as to clear the foyer for our final guest of the evening. Please our guest of honor, our beloved friend from Transylvania: Sabrina le Fay!"

The nobles cheered as the front doors sprang open. A foul stench immediately entered the room as two giant wargs accompany a gaunt woman dressed in a gown red like a rose to match her hair. Her face was obscured with a black veil, but the duo could see demonic horns protruding from her head and the empty gaze she gave to the applause around her.

Angry as he was to see her alive and well, Richter managed a smile on his face as he saw through the veil her half mask which concealed the grievous wound over the right side of her pale face that his grandfather inflicted upon her.

Annette took notice of his wicked smile. "What's wrong, Richter?"

"I find it so amusing, really. No matter how hard she tried to hide it," Richter commented. "Sabrina will never be free from the ultimate humiliation given to her by the very man she failed to destroy..."