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The first thing that Christine became aware of was her aching head. Initially, she thought it was a hangover from drinking too much wine with Sarah the night before, but then she remembered the drive down to the border, the strange old couple, and the car running out of gas. The last thing she actually remembered clearly was walking down the road, shivering from the cold, then feeling a strange sense of calmness settle over her. She vaguely remembered being hit from behind.

Before opening her eyes, she listened to the sounds around her. There was water dripping some distance away, and someone breathing raggedly nearby. It sounded like the person was right beside her.

She cautiously opened her eyes and immediately became aware of the cold hard floor beneath her. She groaned a little as the world spun around her. It must have been a blow to the head that had knocked her unconscious.

“You’re okay. You’ve got a bump on your head, but it’s not serious,” said a deep male voice beside her. The man was wheezing a bit, as though he had a cold.

Christine sat up and looked at the man sitting beside her. He was dressed in what appeared to be old, but still serviceable, clothing. His dark hair was longish, not quite down to his shoulders, curly and tousled. His eyes were a deep chocolate brown and he was grinning at her like a little kid. He wasn’t a little kid though, he appeared to be close to her age.

Her surroundings weren’t so reassuring. Stone walls surrounded her, the perfect complement to the stone floor below and cold stone ceiling above. She was obviously in a prison of some sort. The problem was that she had no idea how she had gotten there.

The man sharing the cell with her must have sensed her confusion.

“They brought you in yesterday afternoon,” he said, “My name’s Gervis.” He held out his hand to her for a moment. Then as if realizing that she was too stunned to take it, he lowered it to his side, self-consciously.

“Where am I? And who brought me here?”

“Well, unfortunately, you’re in Lord Radek’s dungeon. His men brought you in yesterday.”

“Lord Radek? What are we, in nineteenth century Britain?” Christine was getting upset.

Gervis looked confused. He didn’t have time to explain, however, as there came from the hallway the sound of heavy boots approaching. The heavy wooden door swung inward into the cell with a creak.

“Girl! You come with us!” a rough, unshaven man, dressed in clothing much less serviceable than Gervis’, demanded in a gruff and strangely accented voice.

Christine was torn between two bad choices. She could smell the pungent odour emanating from the two men from inside the cell, but the cell wasn’t such a great place to be either. Her hesitation didn’t impress her jailers at all. The man who had spoken first grabbed her roughly by the arm, then dragged her to her feet and out into the hall. Strangely, the two men left the door ajar behind her, leaving her with the suspicion that perhaps Gervis wasn’t a prisoner after all. She heard him utter a weak “Good luck,” after her before she was hauled up a steep set of stone stairs. From what she could see as she passed, the walls were all made of stone and damp with moisture. Green moss was prevalent in some places and she wrinkled her nose at the smell of old and decaying things.

After walking through several hallways, each gradually improving in condition, she was finally pushed into a room that was much more extravagant than what she had seen thus far. It had several colourful tapestries on the walls and the floor appeared to be made of marble. Two huge fireplaces lined either side of the room and the furniture, while old fashioned, was plush and obviously expensive. The room looked like it had been designed from a picture in a book about old castles.

Her eyes finally rested on the lone occupant of the room. He was tall, pale, and had long, greasy black hair. What made her breath catch in her throat was his eyes. They were an astonishingly vibrant shade of green. She had never seen anything like them. It was as if someone had plucked out his real eyes and inserted two perfect emeralds instead. They almost seemed to glow from within and she felt somewhat mesmerised by them.

“So . . . you are the new visitor from the fog, hmmmm?” His voice was low and rough, and would have been seductive had Christine not felt that there was something slightly unstable in his tone.

She nodded her head dumbly, wondering what the fog had to do with any of this, but she was too afraid to ask. The way he was staring at her made her feel decidedly uncomfortable. His intense green eyes seemed to be looking inside her and it was almost as if he were searching for something. Finally, he spoke.

“I am Lord Radek. You were brought here last night. We found you wandering alone on the road to Donner. I know you have come through the fog. That makes you a very special visitor.”

“I’ve never heard of Donner. We were just outside of Thunder Bay when we ran out of gas.” Christine was confused, and now more than a little afraid.

“I know things are a little strange for you right now. But you will soon become used to your new situation. You see, the fog travellers are a gift to me. You are a gift to me. Normally, I keep my gifts in the room in which you awoke, but,” Lord Radek walked closer to Christine, grasped her chin steady in his icy fingertips and stared deeply into her eyes, “I think you deserve some nicer accommodations.”

Christine wanted to tell him that she was no one’s gift, but the words stuck in her throat. As she stared at him, he smiled reassuringly at her and she felt a seductive sense of relaxation overcome her. Her only thought was that he wasn’t actually threatening her in any way. She looked at him curiously.

“How am I a gift?”

Lord Radek just continued to smile at her. The look in his eyes was almost searching and he appeared to be considering something. Finally, he nodded his head and spoke.

“I look forward to getting to know you better, Christine. If you wait here for a moment, I will arrange to have you brought to your new room.”

He stepped just outside a different door on the left side of the room and Christine could hear him speaking softly to someone in the hall. She hoped it wasn’t the dirty men who had brought her up from that cell. She didn’t want them touching her anymore.

A slightly plump, kind-looking woman entered the room. She looked Christine over, almost in the same way someone would inspect a prized horse. She seemed to notice Christine’s confusion and she smiled reassuringly at her. “Now, you just come with me. I’m Giselle and I’ll help to make you comfortable,” she said.

Christine followed her obediently. Passing Lord Radek in the hall, he stopped her and absently brushed a stray piece of hair off of her cheek with surprisingly gentle hands.

“You really are quite beautiful, Christine. Very special,” he whispered in his seductive voice. He released her and stepped back into the room, leaving Christine with Giselle.

The hallway in which she now found herself was quite different from the ones through which she had been dragged following her awakening in the dungeons. These walls were clear of any moisture and they, like the extravagant room in which she had met Lord Radek, were covered in elegant tapestries. Giselle led Christine up a staircase at the end of the hall and then down another grand hallway in the upper level. Finally, they stopped in front of a thick wooden door that Giselle unlocked with a key. Christine entered a bedroom that was just as beautifully furnished as the fancy room downstairs. It was amazing. There was a huge four-post bed against one wall and a lovely dressing table opposite it. The only other furnishings were a large, ornate wardrobe and a fireplace.

Looking around her, thinking about how different this room was from the one in which she had awoken, Christine remembered the kind man from the dungeons.

“Who was the man who was with me when I woke up?” she asked Giselle timidly.

“Ahh, that must have been Gervis,” Giselle smiled fondly. “He‘s Lord Radek’s manservant. He just goes down there to make sure that new … guests are okay, especially if they have any injuries when they arrive. I’m sure you’ll see him around the castle, but you mustn’t speak to him. Gervis is a gentle soul and I wouldn’t want to see him get into trouble with Lord Radek.”

“Oh, but I would never … “ Christine didn’t even have time to finish before Giselle swept out of the room. There was a clicking noise after the door shut behind her, and Christine rushed over only to discover that it had been locked.

Something Giselle had said struck Christine as strange and she hurried over to the window and looked out. There, below her, was a grand courtyard. This really was a castle! Christine shook her head, as if to clear it. Maybe she had been hit harder than she had originally thought. How could she be in a castle? There were no castles within a thousand kilometres of Thunder Bay. Had she been transported to Europe while she was unconscious? The very idea was crazy. Her eyes rose to the horizon and she gasped at what she saw.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

“Hello?” a familiar male voice came through the door, “are you alright in there?”

It sounded like the man that Giselle had identified as Gervis. Christine looked up from the bed where she had been sitting in stunned silence for the last half hour. She got up and ran swiftly over to the door.

“Gervis? Is that you?”

“Yes, are you okay?” Christine heard a note of concern in the familiar voice.

“What’s happening, Gervis? Is this a dream? How hard did I hit my head?”

“Wait there, I’ll come to you in a few minutes and explain everything.”

She heard Gervis’ footsteps echo back down the hallway and stared at the closed door. Was this some kind of dream or nightmare? She was trapped in a castle, held captive by some sort of medieval lord. The last thing she remembered before she had lost consciousness on the road was worrying that Sarah’s cold was getting so much worse. It now appeared that Christine was the one in dire need of help.

She heard a noise coming from behind the wall opposite the window. There was a brief clicking sound and a section of the wall swung into her room, almost silently. There stood Gervis, grinning at her with a proud expression on his face.

Impulsively, Christine ran over and hugged him. Then she realized what she was doing and, chagrined, stepped back. Gervis’ smile was bigger than ever.

“Are you okay?” Gervis touched her cheek gently, in the same place that Lord Radek had stroked it, but this time she felt a slight thrill rush through her body. Giselle was right, Gervis was a very gentle person. Having him there with her made her feel safer somehow.

“I’m confused, but okay I think. Unless I’m suffering from a concussion and a whole series of hallucinations. Then I am definitely not okay.”

Gervis chuckled, “I’m afraid not. This is real. I know it’s going to be hard to believe, but this is really happening. I’d try to explain everything to you, but I think it would just confuse you even more, and maybe even frighten you. I think you should just get used to things one step at a time.”

“But Lord Radek … ”

“Don’t worry about him for now. He’s just left the castle for a few days. You’ll be safe for now. That’s one of the reasons I’ve risked coming to you this way. He’s usually very aware of everything that goes on under his roof. And he would not approve of my visiting you. I don’t know who would suffer more for it, me or you.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s the ruler in these parts. He manages the village and the surrounding areas. He’s just left overnight for a visit to my parents. He’s trying to find out if anyone else came through the fog last night.”

Christine thought of Sarah, but still didn’t trust Gervis completely, despite his apparent courage in coming to see her and her obvious attraction to him.

“You said that was one of the reasons you came here. What was the other?” Christine looked at Gervis, surprised to find herself almost flirting with him. He blushed.

“Well, you looked so pretty and vulnerable in the dungeons. I couldn’t take my eyes off you when you were unconscious. I was afraid that you would disappear like a vision. We don’t have many women come through the fog alone, let alone any who look … like you. I guess Lord Radek saw that you were different from the other fog visitors as well,” Gervis looked chagrined, “he’s never allowed anyone out of the dungeons before that I can remember.”

Christine just stared at him intently, trying to read some sort of coherent explanation for her current situation out of his words. She felt as if she should feel flattered somehow, but she was lost in such a pool of confusion that she could make no sense of it at all.

There was a noise in the hall and Gervis nearly jumped out of his skin. He strode quickly to the opening in the wall and, as it shut behind him, Christine heard him whisper “I’ll be back to see you tomorrow.” Then she was alone again, if only for a moment.

The door to her room opened and Giselle marched in, carrying a covered tray. She set it down on the gorgeous redwood dressing table and motioned for Christine to sit down and eat. All business, she marched back out, without saying a word, the door locking behind her.

Christine sat down to eat and pondered her situation. First Lord Radek had mentioned the fog, and now Gervis had mentioned it too. They must be talking about that thick fog that she and Sarah had driven through the other night. It had been very strange, but it was hard to believe that it had the ability to transport her anywhere, which was what both men had seemed to be implying. She nibbled on a piece of dark bread as she tried to work out what was going on. She just couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

After eating a few slices of bread with a deliciously strong-tasting white cheese, Christine felt herself overwhelmed with lethargy. She knew that she had been through quite a traumatic experience over the past twenty-four hours and she decided to lie down and get some rest, hoping against hopes that she would wake up in her own bed.

 

His hands were on her, touching her, gently stroking first her arms and then her legs. It was so relaxing, so sensual. This was the most delicious dream that Christine had had in a very long time.

“Oh, meine Christine,” murmured a deep gravely voice, “Lassen Sie mich Sie lieben.”

Christine couldn’t understand the words, but the feelings that went with them were full of sensuous warmth and love. She felt warm lips on her wrists, making a trail up her arm, over her shoulder to her neck. His kiss there was exquisite, better than any lovemaking she had ever experienced before. It was like a never ending peak of pleasure that just trailed on and on forever.

 

When Christine opened her eyes she was very disoriented for a moment. The room was unfamiliar. She wasn’t in her own bed like she had hoped she would be as she had been drifting off. She was still in the castle dream.

Dream? Did she dream while she slept? Christine felt a wave of warm embarrassment rush through her and she closed her eyes for a moment. What a dream! She thought it was no coincidence that she’d had a dream like that right after meeting Gervis. He wasn’t the type of man she normally encountered – sleek, smart, ambitious and aggressive. Gervis was more the nice guy type, but more handsome than most. Most guys that she knew who were that good-looking were very full of themselves, but there was something both shy and unassuming about Gervis. She smiled as she thought of him. At least there was something to smile about in this whole crazy situation. She couldn’t wait to tell Sarah about him.

Sarah! Christine had totally forgotten about her sister, left feverish and sleeping in the back of their broken-down car. She had to get back to the car to find her. Of course, there was a locked door separating her from her freedom. Maybe Gervis could help with that. She was looking forward to seeing him again. Maybe she could convince him to leave with her.

Christine heard someone at the door and finally got out of bed. Giselle strode angrily into the room and slammed a tray down onto her dressing table. Christine noticed that the tray she had eaten from the night before was gone. Someone must have come in while she was asleep last night and taken it.

Giselle began to storm back out of the room, but she paused at the door for a moment, then spun around to face Christine. She had a look of utter fury on her face.

“I warned you to stay away from Gervis!” she spit at Christine, “It’s all your fault that he’s in trouble now! If you expected him to come visit you again you can just forget it!” Then she stormed out.

Shocked at the unexpected outburst, Sarah sat back down on the bed. Gervis was in trouble because of her! Somehow, someone must have found out about his visit to her yesterday evening. Numbly, she walked over to the dressing table and sat down. Nibbling on a piece of fruit, she thought carefully about her situation. From what Giselle had said, Gervis wasn’t going to be able to help her get out of here. She was going to have to depend on herself. The question now was how she was supposed to do that.

She ate her breakfast, expecting it to help wake her up. Despite having slept so long the night before, she was still exhausted. After finishing her meal with a glass of milk, she walked over to the wall from which Gervis had emerged the night before.

It was solid stone. If she hadn’t seen Gervis come out of there with her own eyes, she never would have believed that there was a door there at all. There didn’t seem to be any way to open it from her side, no matter where or what she prodded or poked. Finally, her exhaustion overwhelmed her and she lay back down on the bed, thinking to examine the wall again more thoroughly after a short nap.

She was almost asleep when she heard a noise at the wall and the door swung open. She sat up with a smile, expecting her visitor to be Gervis. Her face froze when the figure stepped into the room. It was Lord Radek!

 

Read Chapter 5 next Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 . . .

 

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