Ashley slowly opened her eyes. It was already getting dark, and the sun was already setting. She checked the time. It was evening. She looked outside the door. Some people were dining, talking to each other, and laughing. She slowly went downstairs. The small dining room was lit by warm yellow lamps on the walls. Some waiters and waitresses were serving wine and meals. She went into the crowd, trying not to attract attention.
Despite the small number of people there, the crowd was so noisy that Ashley doubted if she could hear herself. A waiter came to her.
“Hello, lady,” he said with a modest smile on his face.
Ashley just smiled back with a little nervousness. She didn’t know what to say.
“Why don’t you have something to drink or eat? We have delicious steaks and high-quality wine marinated in blood,” he said.
“Oh… Uh, I’ll just have a glass of wine, I guess…” she said, trying to be nice.
“There you go, then,” the waiter said as he put the glass onto her table.
She took a sip of the wine. The sweet, warm taste of blood was mixed with bitterness and alcohol. That taste made her feel more energetic. She wondered when was the last time she drank blood like this. A week ago, maybe? It felt so good.
“Wow, it was really good,” she said to herself.
“But you didn’t come here to drink wine, Ashley.”
She thought about the Blue Book and the diary.
“I should start searching.”
Then, after taking the last sip from the glass, she went back to her room.
“The Blue Book… how can I find it…?” she talked to herself while quickly turning the pages of Monica’s diary, looking for a hint.
In the pages she had already read, the diary said that Monica couldn’t find any clues. But Ashley kept reading. Maybe there was something on the next pages.
‘May 3, 1975.
Still, not much knowledge about the Blue Book. But I’ve got something that can be useful. The witch’s house, where the witch who helped the First Blue Moon Vampire create that book used to live, is now being used as a hotel after her death.’
“A hotel? There must be plenty of hotels in Transylvania. Not quite a useful hint, huh?” Ashley thought as she read those sentences.
“I wonder how many hotels this city has.”
She took her phone and searched, “How many hotels are there in Transylvania?”
“Well, let’s see… 187 hotels!” she said in surprise.
But Transylvania is a tourist city. No wonder why it has that many places to stay.
Ashley sighed.
“Duty calls… I’d better start searching with this one,” she said as her eyes scanned every inch of the dark room she was in.
“I have to be careful. The crowd hasn’t broken up yet.”
She stood up, walked through the door, took a deep breath, and stepped outside.
There was a hallway with other rooms on both sides of the stairs. She was moving slowly and carefully. There were beautiful paintings and portraits of old beings on the walls.
But that wasn’t what caught her attention.
At the end of the hallway, there was Count Dracula’s room.
Locked.
She was touching, feeling the mystery and creepiness that old wooden door gave to her, drawing within her own thoughts.
Until—
“You are a curious one.”
The sentence she heard woke her up from her absence of mind.
She immediately turned back. That face in front of her, those shining red eyes, that golden hair… none of them were unfamiliar to her.
“You are that woman I met at the train, Selene?” Ashley asked.
Selene smiled.
“I am. What are you doing here?”
Ashley glanced at the locked door behind her.
“I was just looking around.”
“Looking for something?” Selene asked.
Ashley shook her head.
“No, I just don’t know many people here, and I don’t have anything to do, so… I just decided to wander around.”
“Is that so?” Selene asked, right before she came up with an idea.
“May I join you? I’ve spent a lot of time in Transylvania, especially in this hotel. I can help you explore things.”
“Oh,” Ashley said. For a second, she didn’t know what to say.
“…Okay, that would be nice,” she said while trying to make her smile more sincere, and she succeeded, too.
Selene led the way ahead. The long train of her dress was slipping on the floor. Her long hair was covering the patterns of her elegant purple dress. It was way different from the grey sweatshirt and tights Ashley was wearing.
“I definitely need to go shopping,” she talked to herself.
Ashley finally managed to take her gaze away from Selene and gave it to the beautiful hallway they were passing through.
Every step she took made her realize how wonderful this place was. Shades of white and black were adorning the walls, while the wooden floor was keeping the warm shades of brown.
A perfect mix of gothic and cozy style.
The longer they walked, the more luxurious the rooms got. At first, there were just normal suites like the one Ashley was staying in. After them, there were “luxury suites,” which were like a more luxurious version of normal suites.
But then, there were King Suites.
One of their doors was open. Ashley just saw inside the room out of the corner of her eye, and she was stunned.
Golden candles, golden vases, and a bed with a white sheet which had perfect goldwork on it. With all those, it looked like a royal room more than a hotel room to her.
At the end of the hallway, there was a big guest lounge.
“Well, this is where all guests meet, or at least most of them,” Selene said as they stopped at the doorway.
“I can see that…” Ashley said as she glanced over the crowd inside.
Most tables were full. People were eating, drinking, and talking with each other.
“I didn’t expect this hotel to be full of people,” Ashley said to Selene.
“Well, it has a price range. It has one of the least-priced rooms and the most expensive King Suites at the same time,” Selene said while she turned her face to Ashley.
“Isn’t that also why you chose this one?” she asked.
“No, actually. I just chose this one because I was so tired, and this one was the first I came across,” Ashley said.
Selene chuckled a little after hearing that. Ashley joined her, too.
They stayed silent for a few minutes. Selene broke the silence.
“So… what brought you to Transylvania?”
Ashley thought for a second.
“Well, I’ve spent most of my life in London, and in every respect, Transylvania seemed to be a better place to live in,” she answered.
“That’s it?” Selene said.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Ashley repeated.
They both fell silent again. They didn’t know how much time they spent just standing there, both of them drowning in their own thoughts.
A man called Selene over. He didn’t seem like a vampire to Ashley.
“I have to go… Sorry,” Selene said as she was leaving Ashley there.
“Oh, no problem… Sorry I’m not the one who can keep the conversation going…” Ashley said shyly.
“Uh… That’s okay…” Selene responded before she disappeared.
Ashley was alone again, and the sun hadn’t risen yet, so she still had time to explore by herself..