Orlok Castle, Switzerland, 1895
It had been almost a year since Stephanie had been transformed into a vampire and proposed to. This past year was very eventful for the two of them and for the vampire community as a whole. It turns out that when one of the vampire lords is married, it is a huge event that everyone wants to attend, so it takes a long time to prepare for. The two households had been relocated to Orlok Castle, a remote fortress in the middle of the Alps. A completely impenetrable fortress that was extremely difficult to enter unless one was invited. It was overseen by its mysterious overlord, Count Orlok, the world's oldest living vampire, who lived in the castle but had not been seen by visitors upon their arrival. In the past years, vampires from all over Europe had been arriving by the scores. There would be hundreds of guests at this little wedding. This made Stephanie nervous; this meant that as the bride and as the recent vampire convert, all eyes would be on her. It was absolutely forbidden for anyone outside of Alucard’s family to know that Stephanie was born a man, and any servants who had knowledge of the fact were sworn to secrecy. Stephanie was very nervous, so she needed to get some air.
She quietly exited her room in the castle and headed up the stairs to the outside air of the castle. She carefully lifted her skirt to prevent her heels from stamping down on her loose ends. She made her way to the wall of the castle and looked out at the mountains before her. She smiled as she looked at them; they reminded her of the Carpathian Mountains back home, a place she had not been in a long time and perhaps never would. She reached her throat and swiped one finger over the fang holes on the right side of her neck, smiled, and bared her fangs. This was her home now, and these were her people; she had truly left humanity behind. She knew that the wedding was just a formality; the moment he bit her, they were husband and wife. It was then that she heard a female voice she recognized say, “Lady Stephanie, up here.” She looked up to see Mariko sitting on a ledge further up. “Come sit with me!” Steph smiled and climbed up to the small tower further up, lifting her skirt to make sure that she would not get scuffed. She smiled as she climbed up on the tower ledge and sat beside Mariko putting her arm around her and kissing her.
In the past year, the two had gotten very close, she had never been attracted to a woman before, but this lady from the far east, a land she couldn't fathom in her head, had become her best friend. She took her hand in hers and kissed Miriko once again as the Japanese woman rested her head on her shoulder, the two being around the same height. Stephanie sighed, “I am so glad you are here, Mari, that was her nickname for her, even with my new husband, I feel so alone sometimes. Mari nodded, “I know what you mean, this world, it can be cruel to us.” Stephanie nodded, “Yeah...... Europe is wonderful but also.... very white” Mari giggled “Yeah indeed but my country is also very much one color as well” Stephanie sighed “I have never been to the country of my people; I have been told that my people are from India, I hope to one day go there” Mari smiled “I hope you do.” it was then that Steph decided to ask the one thing that had baffled her for a long time “How did your sister, two Japanese women end up here in service to Alexia?” Mari sighed, “It is a long story, but I will attempt to tell it.”
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“It was the year 1860, after the Americans had come with their gunboats and their rifles, but before the government abolished feudalism. It was the dying age of shoguns and samurai. Our father, Akira, was a stone mason, a very gifted one. After our mother died in childbirth, he did all he could to take care of us, but one day, he was in a terrible accident, which left him unable to do his work. We were forced to move to Edo, now Toyoko, and we put it on ourselves to provide for our father. We were trained and found work as geishas; the fact that we were twins provided a novelty for our act. Occasionally, we did other things; prostitution was forbidden for geishas, but we sometimes did that as well. One day, our performance was attended by a wealthy white woman dressed in a hood and a veil. After our performance, she propositioned us; neither had never been with a woman before, but she paid well, and we took a chance, it was Interesting to say the least. Of course, that was Alexia Dracula. After the deed was done, she did something strange. She offered us a job as her traveling companions and handmaidens. She offered to pay more money than I had ever dreamed of, and she made a promise that our father would be well taken care of. We took the deal; we traveled the world with her, and the three of us became close. She kept her promise, and our father lived in luxury until the day he died, after a decade of travel, she revealed her true nature to us and gave us a choice to become like her. We took, we have not regretted it since.”
Steph sighed, “Wow, that is a lot. I am glad you made that choice,” Mari smiled. “I am as well. It led me here, my loyalties will always be with Alexia, but I love you.” Stephanie smiled “Alucard is my husband and my true love, but I will always be with you as well.” Mari smiled back, and the two kissed, each as if they had found their best friend, their kindred spirit.
