"We can arrange for you to see more of it," Katherine offered. "I want to see more of it, myself. I usually only ever come to see Uncle, I'm not usually a tourist." Night had fallen by this point, and she was much more comfortable with that as she went towards the waiting car. Her bag and Leila's were already stowed in the trunk.

Leila nodded. "I'd like that. I've heard that there are some beautiful things in Romania, and some excellent touristy places too." She grinned briefly at Katherine.

"See, this vacation can definitely be salvaged."

"I'll talk to Uncle and see what can be arranged," Katherine said. She smiled a bit. "I'm sure he knows some of the best places to go. Places with a lot of history."

"You know I'm a sucker for places like those," Leila said with a brief grin. Of course, that was probably why Katherine had brought it up in the first place. "Well, talk to him and then let me know. I might see if I can't do some research myself."

"I will," Katherine promised. She grinned. "Of course, there is also a place in this country that is considered to be the center of all paranormal happenings for the area," she offered. "Ghosts and such. Supposedly."

Leila snorted. "Really? That would be interesting to go see. Mainly to see how people have messed with it to make it look more haunted."

"Then it's settled," Katherine said. "We'll figure out how to make this vacation work." The car pulled to a stop, and the driver opened the doors for the girls.

"The master is expecting you," he said to Katherine. She nodded and gestured for Leila to follow her. Their bags would be taken inside for them.

"Stay close," she said. "Uncle should be waiting for us."

Leila nodded and followed Katherine inside, looking around as she walked. Well, the place certainly was grand, and it looked pretty old. She couldn't tell quite how old, but pretty old.

At first, there appeared to be nobody there. Then a man appeared at the top of the staircase. He seemed to be just on the tail end of his prime: dark hair just barely peppered with silver, strong shoulders, straight back. He had a rather impressive nose and a neatly-trimmed mustache.

"Putin noaptea pasare," he called down.

"Unchiul!" Katherine called back, grinning a bit. The man came down the stairs smoothly and gracefully.

"Little night bird," he said in heavily accented English. "Welcome." He glanced at Leila, and then back at Katherine. "You have brought a companion?"

"Uncle, this is my friend Leila," Katherine said, putting emphasis on the word 'friend.' "She is my housemate back in the States." She looked at Leila. "Lei, my Uncle Vlad. Not really my literal uncle, but it's the easiest way to define it."

"I see. Nice to meet you." Leila dipped her head to Katherine's uncle, though she didn't offer to shake hands. She'd found out rather quickly that many Europeans didn't do much shaking of hands except to seal a deal or for business things.

But she did have to admit she was impressed by Katherine's uncle. He just seemed to take things in stride, so far.

Vlad looked at the girls before nodding once.

"I see," he said. He dipped his head in return to Leila. "Welcome, then. I am Vlad, head of the family." He glossed over his name, neglecting to give a family name. For the moment, it didn't matter. "You are welcome in my house." Pleasantries now settled, he turned his attention back to Katherine. He tutted over her in Romanian, pulling aside the collar of her shirt to get a look at the injury. It already looked a little less severe than before, it it was still angry and red and painful-looking.

Leila couldn't quite see what was going on, and since they were speaking in Romanian, clearly it was a family matter. So she didn't try to pry, instead looking around the entrance hall again. Now that she was feeling a little more grounded, she was itching to explore.

Once her uncle had determined for himself that the injury wasn't life-threatening, he threw a glance at Leila as the human girl walked past the famous portrait of The Impaler.

"Little night bird," he said to his 'niece', "your... companion. She knows who and what we are, yes?"

"I tried to tell her, Uncle," Katherine replied. "She didn't believe me."

"Talk to her," Vlad said. "Make her see."

"I will, Uncle." Katherine sighed slightly. Vlad gave her a brief hug.

"Go rest, little night bird. Take your friend with you." Katherine nodded, and made her way to Leila.

Leila stopped and looked at the picture. She knew it well; she'd seen it many times. Then her brain sort of screeched to a halt as she actually looked at the man in the picture, looking back at Vlad. Vlad. Vlad Tepes. Vlad the Impaler.

For a few seconds she felt kind of light-headed.

"Leila?" Katherine said as she got closer to her friend. The girl was staring at the portrait, but Katherine didn't immediately make the connection. She knew who her uncle was, after all. "Lei?"

"Not freaking possible." Leila pointed at the picture, then looked back after Vlad. "No. No way. No freaking way."

And if she was starting to feel a little hysterical, well, she figured she was fully justified.

"Lei, calm down," Katherine said soothingly. "Talk to me, darling, get your thoughts in order."

"Him--" Leila pointed at Vlad, "--and him." She pointed at the picture. "Scary likeness. Please tell me it's just a scary likeness. Or family resemblance. Or something."

"Or something," Katherine echoed. She put a hand on Leila's shoulder gently. "I told you, Uncle has had a long time to get where he is." She glanced at the portrait, and then back at her friend.

The color slowly drained from Leila's face. "You weren't joking earlier," she said quietly. "About the whole... the whole... thing." She flapped her hand in a vague gesture, clearly at a loss for words.

"No, I wasn't," Katherine replied softly. "I wish I had been." She moved her hand from her friend's shoulder, wrapping an arm around her instead. "Come with me. You can use my room for the night, I'm betting some rest sounds good."

"Yeah." Along with a stiff drink, but Leila didn't think that would be a real good option just then. Instead she followed Katherine up to her room, her mind still reeling.

Maybe she'd feel better in the morning.

Katherine led her friend up the staircase, past Vlad, and up to her room. The room was large, with a bed that was at least king-sized and dark-wood furniture to match. The window was also huge, and led out to a balcony, but the doors to it were shut and the windows were covered in blackout curtains. Her bag and Leila's were set neatly at the foot of the bed.

"Go ahead and get comfortable," she said to her friend. "I'll go and let Uncle know that someone should make a trip to get real food around here for you."

Leila had to bite back a semi-hysterical giggle at that, but she managed and nodded. "Alright. I think I'll just lay down for a bit." She pulled her shoes off slowly, setting them atop her bag before sitting cautiously on the bed, like it might suddenly turn into an ottoman.

Katherine left the room quietly, letting Leila get settled. She took her time talking to Vlad about arrangements for Leila, and ended up heading back inside once her grand-sire decided he wanted to go run with the wolves for a while. She slipped quietly back into her room just as a chorus of howls rose outside.