daydreams from krasue

7/29/2019 Daydreams from Krasue

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Krasue


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Daydreams

Starr stared out of the window and wished she were

somewhere else. Often, she contemplated just

forgetting it all and going into hiding. Just the other

night, she watched a French Indie Film There was a

story, a plot, but for the most part, it was just

observing a simple woman going about her day. One

moment, she was drining co!ee and having a

smoe in a "aris caf#$ the ne%t, she was waling

through the districts, looing serene. &ersurroundings were always grey and dri''ling.

Since seeing the (lm, she fantasi'ed about

having days lie that. She)d drin lattes in leisure

while watching strangers wal by, and then 'one

out, reading her tablet. Then, taing wals through*hamps +lysees, she)d contemplate life or the

meaning of some writer)s words, or some musician)s

wild. aybe she)d even tae up smoing. It looed

so elegant in the movies.

-Starr/

Shane had a terrible habit of waling in

without nocing, lately.

-0ight,/ she said, reading her mind. -If you)d

answered when I noced, I wouldn)t seem so rude./

-Sorry./

The sounds of her heels clopping echoed o!

the walls as she waled across the o1ce 2oor. The


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chocolate brown leather chair, opposite Starr, made

a pu! noise as she sat.

-3o need to apologi'e, but reali'e that just

because you don)t want to wor, the day doesn)t

stop./

Starr sighed and said, -4eah, oay. 5hat is

it/

-The Fleet just got bac from 6ango.

7nchali denies any responsibility for the missing

women. She says she)ll give you her full

cooperation, if you wish to come and investigate. I

don)t understand why you called bac the Fleet.

They could have taen care of the investigation

while they were there./

-6laely needs them./

-For what/

-The company *hristmas party and 5inter

Solstice Soiree is ne%t wee./

-7nd that)s more important than the deaths

of pregnant women/

-Oh, come on, Shane8 Since we)ve been here,

people haven)t stopped dying8 +very single day, it)s

someone or some damned thing8/

-This is your job./

-I now and I)m doing what I can. 5e)ll

continue the investigation after ne%t wee. I now it


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sounds awful, but we won)t get anything solved by

then anyway. 5e can)t have hundreds of people in

the castle without security./

-5hen has the Fleet ever acted as security

They party just lie everyone else. 9ast year, I

caught anuel having a good time with the :uchess

in the pool room. +than brought some sort of

powder that can get even us high. These are only

two e%amples. any of the other Fleet members

were out of control, too, and hardly in a state toprotect./

-I now how they can be. 7fter all, I served

with them for ten years. They can get out of control,

but if anything should happen, they willbe the (rst

to respond. 6esides, if you)d done a better job ofrecruiting, we wouldn)t have to rely on the Fleet.

They could have a night o!, for a change. 3ot that it

matters because I)d still insist that they be here. 4ou

now how many have it in for us. &aving a party

maes us vulnerable and open to attac./

-Oay, oay./

-7ny other news/

She tossed a folder on the des.

-4ou got a bill from the 0omania inistry. It)s

for the Sighisoara property. It)s for ;


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Starr 2ipped open the (le and found a few

statements.

-4ou haven)t paid your ta%es in ten years.

That would be how./

-7le% should be taing care of this,/ she said

as she 2ipped through the papers.

-&e has enough on his plate. 7lthough it)s

possible he didn)t now. 7fter all the property you)ve

inherited over the last decade, it)s ama'ing this is

the only slip up./

-5here am I going to get that much money/

-4ou have to sell it. I have a few appraisals

here. It loos lie you could get =uite a bit for it./

-I don)t want to sell it. I have too many

memories of that place./

-4ou)re idding, right They)re not your

memories. 5hen are you going to learn to separate

yourself from *reden'a/

-Shane, there is no separation. 4ou don)t

understand, so stop judging me. Stop telling me how

I should be, because you don)t now that./

-Then you should (nd something else to sell.

If I might mae a suggestion> 5hat about ?alholSurely, there)s something there that)s worth a lot./

-4ou)re right, but it doesn)t seem ethical./


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-5ell, you might not have a choice. If you

don)t sell or pay it in full in thirty days, "arliament

will ac=uire it. ichael @abor A he)s the inister of

*ulture and 3ational "atrimony A has been noti(ed./

-5hat in the world is that/

-7 government o1ce$ part of their job is to

eep trac of historical properties and landmars,

lie your castle./

-Is that for real/

-*hec their website. 4es, it)s real. They feel

Sighisoara should belong to the government. "lus,

you haven)t lived there, not once, so you don)t have

homeownership consideration. It just sits there, soit)s not really considered a home or commercial

property. They)ve already made a proposal./

Shane leaned across the des and 2ipped the

papers in the folder over until she reached a

document at the bac.

-They)re o!ering to wipe out your ta% debt

completely, and give you a credit for (veBmillion

euro, if you sign it over to them within the ne%t

thirty days. &ere)s the address. 4ou must bring any

and all deeds or historical documents regarding

ownership of the property. Further, you must leaveeverything that originally came with the castle$

rather anything historical or signi(cant. 3ow, you

could try to sell it and get way more money, but if

you go over the thirty days, the interest will double


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and accumulate. 5ait too long, and they)ll start

invading your life. 7nd it)s not lie in the Cnited

States where you have rights and must be given

notice and time. If they want, they can simply taeyour property and still leave you with the bill./

-I can)t come to a decision right at this

moment. I)ll thin about it and get bac to you. In

the meantime, get arla out here. I want a full

audit. 7le% is to do everything she tells him./

-6ut Starr, you now she hates to 2y./

-I don)t care. If she tries to refuse, I)ll drag her

here myself. 7fter everything I)ve done for her, she

can do me this favor./

Starr grabbed the (le and leapt up onto thestone window sill.

-5here are you going 5e have a meeting in

an hour 4ou)re not seriously gonna 2y in the middle

of the day/

-:on)t worry, Shane. One day, I)ll be goneand you won)t have to deal with me anymore./

Starr almost too o!, but then turned and

said, -I)m sorry that I)m di1cult to wor with. I)m

unhappy$ that)s all./

Then she 2ew out toward the peas of the

mountain, toward the *astel de 3egru and onward

to Sibiu.


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9ately, she)d taen to long wals in the par

en pointe, overlooing the cloc tower. Sometimes,

she even lied to rest on the tower, itself. From

there, she could see the sea re2ecting into the sy.

Today, it was the par again.

She landed on the soft grass and waled to

her favorite secluded spot. In the middle of a ring of

trees, the sun was completely bloced out, lending

her shade and cool salted air.

She sat on the bench and tried to mae sense

of the paperwor. Just one charge per year labeled

-assessment./ 7fter, interest charge levied four

times per year plus late fees.

&er phone vibrated in her pocet.

-&ello/

-&i, I just spoe to Shane,/ 7le% said. -9isten,

I thin you should sell a couple properties to pay for

the ta% bill. 4ou have several magni(cent houses.

5hen can we tal about it more in detail I washoping to see you today, but she says you)ve gone./

-:on)t do anything yet. I)m having a friend of

mine 2own in from 3ew 4or. She)s gonna do an

audit./

-5hat 4ou don)t trust me It wasn)t my fault,

and I can prove it./


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-She)s a specialist. I want her to negotiate

any deals with the ministry. It)s nothing personal,

but I want her to do it 7merican style./

-So you)re not gonna sign over the castle/

-3o, I)m gonna try and settle with them./

-Oh, well, I guess that means you)ll be

leaving us, then/

-5hat/

-I thought Shane e%plained everything. 6y

law, even if you pay the ta% bill, you can still lose

the property if you don)t reside there. The

government can do so for items of historical or

cultural signi(cance./

-Shane, naturally,/ she mumbled to herself.

-5hat)s, that/

-3othing. 9oo, if that)s what I have to do,

then that)s what I)ll do. It)s my father)s house. &owcan I let it go to "arliament &ow long do I have to

be there, in order to establish residency/

-7t least si% months of each year./

-Oay, set up a meeting, (rst thing ne%t

wee, with inister @abor./

-5ill do./

Si% months at home. She)d dreamt about

getting away, but what was she going to do in


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Sighisoara 7nd not even in the city, but in the

stics outside it

DDD

9ife had taen a hard turn on her. 5hen was

she going to turn it bac It was a =uestion she)d

ased herself so many times. 3ever, did she go to

college$ she didn)t (nish high school$ she never

even had a real job.

5hat she would do, if it meant she could go

bac and re do everything, but how would she

There was no way to go but with the current. Since

when was she ever able to go against the tide that

insisted on breaing before her feet, drenching her.From saving the world and illing the empress, to

inheriting all of ?alhol, the *ouncil, and *reden'a)s

estate A an estate so priceless that it was lie a pile

of rocs with thin veins of dew. The properties were

nearly impossible to sell, and the li=uid on hand, left

by *reden'a, was barely enough to cover the costsof maintenance. 3o doubt, when she was alive, she

illed someone or stole to pay her debts.

6ut still, how could 7le% miss ta%es on her

father)s property 5e)re taling ten long years.

Further, how could Shane act as if it)s no big deal

It almost made her wonder if they were in on

something, together. Shane had certainly come to

resent her over the years, and she did try to ill her


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a few times, bac in 3ew 4or when they were

teens.

+ventually, everyone stabs the person they)re

supposed to be loyal to in the bac. 7nd eventually,

all relationships must part ways, even friendships.

7nyone who says anything di!erent was a mortal

and hadn)t a clue. 5hen you live forever, things are

di!erent. Things change$ they don)t ever stay the

same. In relationships, there)s always a leader and a

follower. Over time, the follower always rises, de(esor leaves. That)s what being a vampire had taught

her.

9ately, she thought about eghan a lot. 5hen

they were ids, she collected charms. One

afternoon, she put together a bracelet of ogres andnives and gave it to her. It made her cry. Then

later, feeling guilty, she gave her a pretty one made

of roses and smiley faces.

Then there was that last summer at the lae.

&ow sullen she was, right before her boyfriend

abducted her. It was such a drastic change. 5as itall hormones and teen angst 6efore, Starr didn)t

understand how she could be so unhappy. She still

didn)t understand, but despite that, she now

understood how the need to escape can taint the

taste of everything in life.

Then there were all the false memories of the

life she had before. Times with her brother, :racus,

came to mind to. They)d have lunch, (ght and tae

trips through the forest together. &e)d teach her


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how to live o! the land, preparing her for the day

when she)d have to leave her father, the Eing. Then

the Eing would come home. &e was so arrogant$ he

thought was invincible A that he really was divine.&e was so mad and would punish her for their

activities. 6ac then, that meant lashings, even for

the royal family. &e)d bar her in her room for days,

or loc her in the carceral.

6ut Starr owed everything she was to :racus.

She pined for the love of the Eing, who wouldn)teven acnowledge her in public. 3ow, after all the

years, it was :racus who was there for her. If it

wasn)t for him, she)d have never survived. She)d

have never overcome those @ypsies.

For someone who had all the time in theworld, Starr felt lie death was nearing. If she didn)t

mae a change, now, she)d be erased. The only

problem was she didn)t what ind of changes to

mae. It)s one thing to fantasi'e about a life of

leisure, but such a life was impossible. 6esides,

people would be pissed if they thought she =uit so

as to do nothing.

She sat there, staring at the trees until dar,

trying to imagine a few di!erent life scenarios, none

of which appealed to her. 6ut a stranger in the par

once told her that you can)t (nd yourself by

ideali'ing. 4ou must wal a lonely path, and followthe signs that appeal to you. Sometimes, you)ll

follow the signs all the way through, and other

times, you)ll retreat after a time and go bac to your

pathway.


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The sounds of footsteps brought her out of

her 'one.

Two dirty smelling men stumbled across her

path. They stopped and stared, speaing in

0omanian. One looed lie he)d been on a bender,

and the other, lie he was one foot in the grave.

-&i, what are you doing out here all alone/

said the younger one.

-6e on your way. This is your one warning,

strangers. I)m dangerous./

Of course, they didn)t believe her. +ven after

all the years, she still looed lie a si%teen year old

girl. It would be many more centuries before her

sin would wear the signs of weathering. 3ot in thetraditional aging sense, but imagine your 2esh

slowly petrifying before your eyes> a process that

replicated becoming calcareous.

Foolishly, the men sat on the bench beside

her. They leaned bac and looed up at the sy. It

reminded her of the time when the old @ypsy sidled

up beside her, and lured with salted por and fresh

ale from his bag. She was so nave, then.

-It)s a beautiful night,/ said the older one.

-This is a great spot./

Starr held her breath. The old man hadn)t

showered in wees. 7nd in his cotton ball hair, she

saw little things moving about, biting his scalp. 9ice,

she supposed it was.


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-4ou need a place to stay/ ased the

younger one. &is oily face shined under the

starlight. On his lip, a crusted sore lightly oo'ed. -I

can help you. I got a place in town. I lie helpingpeople from time to time. 4ou now, I had it hard

when I was your age, too./

Starr laughed because, obviously, she was

not having a hard time. &er clothes were

immaculate, as was her maeBup and hair. 5hat was

his game

She too short sni!s o! the air, taing in his

pheromones. The taste of three or four di!erent

scents were on him.

:isgusted, Starr got up from the bench. -3o,

thans,/ she said.

Slowly, she waled o! into the trees. 7s she

predicted, they waited a bit, and then followed her.

Starr rose up into the trees and rested on a

thic branch.

The men waled by looing confused and

turning around in circles.

-an,/ said the older one. -I would have lied

to have gotten my hands on that bitch. :id you see

the stones on her/

-She was too smart for us. I could tell,/ said

the younger one. -9et)s go. I don)t thin we)ll (nd

her. +ven if we do, it might be more trouble than it)s


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worth. :id you see the loo in her eyes She was

dangerous, she wasn)t lying./

-4ou)re a pussy,/ said the old man. -Scared of

a woman./

She watched them wal on by, slowly. Then,

with her mind, she followed them all the way home.

They s=uatted in an abandoned house that was up

in the hills. From there, she sensed the presence of

half a do'en women. She couldn)t see their faces

because, inside, it was dar. Only the light of

candles threw glimpses of their faces.

The men waled in and they scattered to do

various things. 7s long as they were there, of theirown accord, why should Starr interfere

6ut then, a memory from the other night

came bac to her> a feeling. She wanted that again.

She 2ew up to the house and landed in the

front yard. They)d patched the rotted holes withwood plans. From the room at the bac, the young

man ran a bath. &e too o! his clothes and got in. 7

moment later, a woman came in and did the same.

*arefully, Starr opened the old wood door. It

made a light creaing noise.

Inside was as disgusting as they were. 7n old

moldy couch faced a couple stics of wood nailed to

a G inch plywood. 7cross from there was an old


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(replace, in which the last remaining embers were

dying down.

On the (replace mantle, there were do'ens of

crunched up cigarette bo%es, which they appeared

to be using to start (res.

This was Starr)s favorite part. She)d watch the

people in the house, heavily A for lac of better

word, until they)d get the feeling of unease. Often,

they didn)t now what or why, but they had to chectheir surroundings. The only thing was, Starr could

never decide if she wanted them to discover her all

at once, or one at a time. In other words, have a

blast or mae it last.

The old man was the (rst to respond. &e

waled in, but his eyes weren)t so good.

-*asey/ he called.

7 smir pulled at the corners of Starr)s mouth

as she commanded the candles on the plywood

table to light.

6ut the old man still didn)t see.

-@oddamn, *asey, go to bed. 5hy do you

always linger out here/

Starr merely stood and watched.

-5hy don)t you do as you)re told/


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&e moved closer to her and put his hand on

her upper and tried to pull her. 5hen she didn)t

move, he new something was wrong.

&e too a step bac and raised the candle

higher. 0ecognition came to him.

-5hat are you doing here 5hy did you follow

us/

-I told you to be on your way, did I not/

-4eah, and you left. 9oo, it)s late, so you)ll be

going, now8/

Starr grinned and spit out of the sides of her

mouth$ something she sometimes did when trying

to contain herself, and doing so unsuccessfully.

-5hat)s so funny/

-4ou)re putting o! notes of fear into the air.

It)s funny because, once, the scent lured me, but

ever since I was touched by the soul of a babe, it

maes me giggle lie a little girl./

7nd giggle she did, mirthfully, as the man

watched.

She laughed louder and louder, and wicedly.

The man became more and more afraid.

-Alfred!

7 moment later, the man came into the room,

accompanied by the woman. They were both

wrapped in bath towels.


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-5hat is it &ave we got another coon/ he

ased.

Then he saw Starr standing in the living room

with a big grin on her face.

The woman looed at her in disgust.

Immediately, she hated her$ this made her laugh

even more.

-So you followed us/ ased the man, trying

to sound surprised. -5hy don)t you have a seat/

Starr detected he was ready to try and rob

her, beat her or something of the sort.

The old man left the room. &e returned a

moment later with a rope. Several other womencame into the room.

7lfred stood and grabbed her by the wrists.

Starr didn)t resist$ rather she got up compliantly.

+rroneously, he assumed that he)d overpowered

her, which made her laugh even more.

-4eah, you)re gonna regret coming into my

house at this hour. 4ou do this all the time Follow

people home/

Starr laughed once again.

-5hy do you eep laughing/

-6ecause I told you to be on your way, did I

not/

-4es, and you left./


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-4es, but you followed me, intent on causing

me harm. I was trying so hard to be good. 6ut you

see, life has been miserable for me, lately. aybe

this is just what I need. I)m so e%cite. It)s been a fewwees since I)ve had as much fun./

-5hatever, lady. Things are about to get

worse for you./

&e put her arms behind her bac and tied

them with the rope. Then he smaced her. 5hen shedidn)t 2inch or blin, he punched her. 5hen she still

didn)t move, he got frustrated and grabbed a piece

of wood.

&e drew bac the wood and whaced her

across the face. It broe clean in half.

Thining it was a 2ue, he went bac for

another.

It broe in half.

7 smile spread her chees bac wide.

They all screamed, and the room was bathed

in fear.

Starr)s head got heavy. &er teeth lightly

touched down to her gums. 7nd all the sudden her

vision became e%tremely clear in the low light of the

candles.

They screamed even louder. The women ran

outside.


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Starr pulled her wrists apart, and then broe

away the rope easily.

7lfred and the older man stood there with

mouths agape.

Starr waled across the room, slowly,

breathing in as deeply through her nose as she

could.

-5hy aren)t you running/ she ased. -7ren)t

you afraid/

Then, as if their legs found themselves, they

too o! out of the door.

Starr let them go, but followed at a distance

for some time. 7nd every time they thought theywere safe, she appeared. They, then, screamed and

ran.

Starr did this for about an hour, when their

pheromones started to wear o!. Then she swooped

down on the old man and broe his nec. For a

moment, she contemplated drining his blood, buthe was disgusting. Then she found 7lfred, whom she

also snapped lie a twig, but didn)t feed on.

3ot that Starr was above feeding on humans.

She lied to do it once in a while, but she bu! men.

"eople who were healthy and lied to bath, or wearperfumes that made their sin nice. She was a

vampire who preferred (ne dining, instead of

diseased and alcoholics.


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She could have found the other women and

continued the fun, but she was tired and wanted to

return to peace. So she waled the streets of Sibiu

for a few hours until sunrise.

Shane appeared before her.

-7re you coming to wor, or what Today, we

need to decide on the case of the iscoptus./

They were a group of vampires who)d decided

to start a cult. 9ie judge and jury, they needed to

loo over the reports and decide who should die and

who should live.

She got up and they 2ew bac to the castle

together.

Shane dragged her to the bu!et.

-I)m not hungry./

-4ou haven)t fed in awhile, and you loo

terrible./

Food had become harder and harder to

ingest.

-I just can)t, Shane./

-7t least, have a little blood in your co!ee./

She handed her a mug.

They waled down the hall to the large

meeting room. There, 7nige gave her presentation,


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supplying them with evidence of the cult)s

misdeeds, deaths and abductions.

-The F6I is already investigating them.

7lthough they don)t now it, they have two

undercover agents in their organi'ation, and none of

them reali'e it yet,/ she said.

-Oay, but that)s all circumstantial,/ said

*ount Julius. -4ou haven)t proved that they did

these things. Further, if they are undercover agents,they)ll detect them eventually. I say we move on,

until something more serious happens. 5e have too

much going on right now, and with end of year

festivities, our plates our full./

-I don)t totally disagree,/ said 7nige. -6ut I

thin that we need to eep them under our radar.

They)re new, they)re young, and they)re careless.

5hen have cults ever gone on peacefully/

-True,/ said Starr. -@ive them enough time,

and they)ll be a problem. 9et)s just get rid of them,

now. &ow many vampires are there/

-TwentyBfour and they plan to mae more./

-Oay, contact the Fleet and give them the

order./

-Starr,/ said 6laely. -4ou really want them allilled Shouldn)t we bring them here and evaluate

them See who should live and who should die/

-3o, because all that will do is mae more

lifelong enemies, down the line./


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-Starr,/ said 7nige. -Some of them were

idnapped against their will$ some of them aren)t

illers or psychotics. 7 few might even be a good

addition, and they might willingly help us bringdown the iscoptus./

-Fine,/ said Starr. -:o whatever you guys

want. I really don)t care./

The rest of meeting was about money and

assets, which new groups had formed and which oldand powerful vamps had decided to die.

That night, she managed to fall asleep a few

minutes. It was long enough to dream about the

vampires and the time she)d spent with the Fleet.

Then she woe and tossed and turned, and

then got up.

6ecy, Eay, isty and isai came to mind.

She wondered what they were doing at the moment.

They were bacpacing through +urope together,but no one had heard from them in a couple wees.

She got out of bed and got dressed. Then she

2ew to them, using her inner demon to guide.

7n hour later, she recogni'ed the hori'on

above "rague.

She hovered by the window$ then

commanded that it open.


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Inside was a nice but old world 2at. It even

had that old smell that these old places grew into

over centuries.

In her mind, she saw that they all slept,

co'ily, in their beds.

Starr ordered room service.

7s she waited, she looed around. They were

certainly having fun. &aving the life she should have

had. *lothes were strewn everywhere, a pile of

mae up and mirrors were on the living room table$

bottles of li=uor and beer smelled from the trash

can.

7 noc came at the door.

Starr let him in.

She wrapped all the garbage and handed it

him. Then she called for the maid, who too their

clothes to launder.

7lthough she intended to stay have breafastwith them, she changed her mind. The bathroom

mirror return a painting of a lost soul, gaunt, pale

and thin lipped with papery sin, and deep ony%

eyes, the ind you e%pect to swallow souls rather

than reveal any depth.

She needed to feed.

6ut she just wasn)t hungry.

daydreams from krasue

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