Chapter Text
The Lady of the castle hadn't been seen in quite some time. Her daughters had been in charge of all the proceedings in the castle while she recovered, hidden away.
Maids came and went, seasons changed, years went by.
Things were rapidly changing and declining for the human race that was left in the area; homes which once housed families were now desolate and run down; holes from gunfire, explosions, and combat riddled the area.
Lycans roamed looking for whatever they could, sometimes getting as desperate as to go for themselves, but regular humans still came and went.
For years, this place was grey, shrouded in fog, and a persistent sense of impending doom hung over the area.
It had been 600 years since that small town in southern Romania saw much life. There was a period when all activity within the historic castle's walls ceased, and it was deemed abandoned, although no official checks were made.
The area started receiving attention once more after years of neglect and biological growth.
Humans came, and after about another 120 years, new generations of families had begun producing foot traffic, supply and demand, and their own economy, which worked for them.
Rumors had started very early about the castle, which stood at a higher altitude, accessible via a slightly steep, rough dirt road that could be traveled on foot but was easier by carriage due to heavy vegetation and raised roots from impressively sized trees.
A couple of people, as stories tell, have traveled up there; most haven't returned. One younger male came out of a group of 7 that had traveled up there looking for potential hunting grounds. He was covered from head to toe by blood and could only babble about flies and a woman with long knives coming out of her hands. No one believed him, chalking it up to a horrific hunting story.
He went crazy shortly after he visited the castle and ran from the town, never to be seen again.
One thing the townspeople noticed was that women who normally went up didn't come back out; however, some of them sent back letters. These letters were brief and seemed rehearsed. Vague statements about finding a job and being held in quarantine for a while until being let out freely to visit family in between shifts.
Eventually, these women were released to visit their own homes for a while, but always had to return; their homes were at the castle now. They weren't to live at home as they now served the Lady of the castle.