Rumour has it that the Countess is eight hundred years old. She scorns tittle-tattle. If people want to knock six centuries off her real age, why should she care? Her black-haired companion is called Zsuzsana, but her identity is equally mysterious and she, too, is reputed to be immensely old. Local folklore tells of a milkmaid, or maybe a seamstress, who strayed into the Castle grounds many, many years ago. When she was next seen, she was richly dressed and had acquired an aloof and aristocratic bearing. Parts of the Castle are opened to the public now. After fourteen centuries, the Countess knows better than anyone about moving with the times. Visitors rarely see either of the inhabitants, but to do so is an unnerving experience. Even though both ladies are faultlessly courteous, they possess a degree of self-assurance that only those of such long experience can acquire. The Countess gives few interviews and even fewer straight answers. When a pretty young reporter asks her if she is a vampire, the Countess smiles and gently rolls her eyes, as if hearing a stupid question for the millionth time. "If I were, my dear," she replies, "do you suppose that you would be sitting there?" "So what is your secret?" the reporter presses on. "Now, if I told you that, it wouldn't be a secret, would it? That's the thing about secrets." Only Zsuzsana shares the secret and she is not telling. Rywen by Vampir3princess & Lesthat from DAZ.