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I glanced back into the crowd as a woe ornate turbanfrom the silk folds slapped me in the face and I shrank away for a mere second And in that second, Vlad suddenly appeared beside o in I should not want to keep the Baroness waiting," Vlad said He did not bother to explain his absence

Andrew did not seeed frolad for it I did not want Andrew to even suspect that truth about our true natures

On the arms of my brother and Master, I entered the ornate theatre of the Dosza Palace The guests were quickly seated in the plush high-backed chairs as a small orchestra warhtedly Holding up one hand, she beckoned us

"Cos!

I took in the down-scaled version of an opera house with its fine velvet draperies and ornate architecture It was nothing compared to the opera houses I had visited in my travels across Europe, but it was quite nice in its quaintness Obviously, the Baroness was quite pleased with her little opera coreat exciterand balconies for the elite to sit in high above the lesser peoples Instead, the Baroness had a section in the front set apart for herself and her honored guests It was here that Vlad led my brother and me We were seated in the most wonderfully ornate and co between my brother and Vlad, I watched with keen interest as the Baroness took the chair next to Vlad

Leaning across my husband, she whispered breathlessly toIt is the life of Vlad Tepes"

My eyes narrowed beneath lanced quickly at Vlad Just what did the Baroness know of hie The servants were busy extinguishing some of the candles for a darker atmosphere I reached out and touched Vlad’s hand He looked ative me no answers

With great flourish, the composer stepped forward to describe his e head and hands His eyes were too se, and he seemed to almost spit his words out as he spoke Obviously nervous, he hesitated in mid-sentence, only to repeat what he had already said

"This opera is about… voice He cleared his throat and see every word as carefully as possible "Vlad Tepes was a great aze slid toward Vlad and I saw that he was not only amused, but also incredibly pleased As the co that Vlad Tepes had helped force the Turks out of Europe, Vlad nearly gloith pride

"And tonight…this night…areat man…Vlad Tepes…Count Vlad Dracula"

The Baroness stood up quickly, cutting off her fu musician "I wish to dedicate this wonderful opera to my dear friends, Count and Countess Dracula of Wallachia"

There was a polite saze falling to Vlad He returned her smile with his own darkly sensual one

Mihjaly Mikszath bowed and turned toward the orchestra awaiting his cue Flamboyantly, Mihaly lifted his thin arhtened in their chairs With the suddenly movement of his arest two hours of my vaht and jolting The notes seemed to assault in to doze off out of boredom I am quite sure not one person dozed, not even in the back row The opera singers were good enough, but the , and tasteless I especially thought the backdrop of thousands of irotesque

The story was sih Vlad was sent as a child by his father to be hostage to the Turks and was forced to endure terrible suffering until he finally ht for the freedodom He had suffered from betrayal after betrayal and he was merciless to his enemies There was a small scene that was supposed to be a love story, but Cneajna had told me the truth I knew that Vlad’s mortal wife, Ilona, had never held his passion In the end, Mihaly tried to create a happy ending Vlad was supposedly beheaded offstage as thecrescendo Then, ed from behind the curtains, he was clad as a saint As the music soared dramatically, the actor climbed up on a set of narrow stairs to as supposed to be heaven Two very bored looking woates As they took the actor playing Vlad into their ar under his breath

To my surprise, the room erupted into applause The Baroness ave nificent, was it not?"

I looked toward Andreho raised an eyebrow at uests rose up into a standing ovation, my brother and I reluctantly joined in We were both on the verge of hysterical laughter and it took all our willpower to maintain our composure

Vlad was positively radiant over the whole production I thought he was far too obvious with his brilliant smile and triumphant expression

I whispered in his ear," You are supposed to be your own descendent, remember?"

"Vlad took my hand, kissed it, and whispered back, "And as his descendent, I am a proud man"

I rolled rinned, flashing his deadly, white canine teeth "I was a hero"

The Baronessher aard coe The Baroness swept toward me and before I could even react, the Baroness ledwith Andrew I foundline of all the performers and I raised my eyebrows beneath my veil I felt rather like royalty

For nearly thirty reeted all the opera perforehands and finally the composer hie to calm his nerves with a bit of liquor