Hi everyone, here is part 2 (sorry if there are mistakes in the tipping, I'm posting from work and will fix it later)
Taglist: @lokiisbrucebanner @festering-queen @leah-halliwell92 @lolimugly @thebeautyofdisorder @camille-stark @mitsukatsu
Inside the arrival hall, she went to the Rent a Car desk and filled a few papers to subscribe to an insurance then chose a black Dacia Sandero and paid the rent for two weeks. She turned toward Dracula as the man asked her to follow him to the underground parking space and led them to the car.
He looked at it with a smirk.
"I know it's probably not of your taste, but you'll have to deal with it." Ihrin started as she loaded her suitcase in the boot. "At least I asked for tinted windows, so you will not be too bothered if the sun starts to rise." She turned toward him, ready to take his luggage but he insisted on doing it himself before taking place at the front, on the right side of the car, as she took the wheel.
"I thought cars had the wheel on the right side." He frowned, making her smile as she helped him to adjust the seat to his high.
"In the UK and in a few other countries, yes. But here in Europe, they drive on the right side of the road." He looked at her with concern.
"Will you be alright?" She laughed at this.
"Don't worry, I slept in the plane, I won't kill us in a car crash." She started the car, then looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "Now, let's go visit Bucharest."
After ten minutes of driving, they entered the northern part of the city. As Ihrin turned right on the roundabout, she pointed at an illuminated structure with romanian flags, her gaze remaining on the road.
“This is the Arc of Triumph, it was built after the french model. It’s a reminder of the Romanian Army’s victory in the first World War and the great union of 1918.” She gave him a quick glance before looking at the road. “You took the time to inform yourself about what you’ve missed during a century, right?”
“Yes.” He looked at the building as they passed by, before eyeing Ihrin. “And I am the one they called monstrous…” He lifted a brow as she smiled, before looking at the illuminated Independence Square.
“Well, not everyone does.” She slowed down a little so he could have a better look. “My faculty is just across this boulevard. I’ll have to go there in the evening to meet a colleague. If you join me, I’ll explain about the revolution of 1989.”
“And where are you taking me now, Miss Munteanu?”
“You’re about to find out.” The mischievous expression on her face made him smile. At the second intersection she turned on the left, entering Calea Victoriei street and parked in front of the National History Museum. She made sure nothing remained visible in the car before getting out, Dracula following with a frown.
“Are you really taking me to a museum?” She laughed, joining him on the sideway.
“No, I just took a nice parking spot so we could walk.” She encouraged him to cross the street with her, taking the Strada Stavropoleos pedestrian street and walked for a moment, before turning left.
The streets were crowded and noisy as many students and tourists were still partying at this late hour of the night.
Noticing his intense gaze on the crowd, she smirked.
“You’ll feed later, right now I need you to tell me where we are.” Ihrin stopped at another intersection with scaffolds facing them. He looked around for a moment, clearly confused.
“I don’t know Ihrin, you should tell me…” She pouted at his answer.
“Don’t you recognize anything?” She smiled at him before heading toward one of the scaffolds and pushed away a pole holding the tarp from the concrete block, creating a small entrance.
“Miss Munteanu, what are you doing?” He chuckled as she offered him an innocent smile.
“If someone calls the police, I’ll handle it, I promise.” She extended her hands. “Now I need you to close your eyes.” He raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.
“Why would I do that?” She kept her lovely smile, waiting for him to take her hands.
“Because you don’t want to ruin my surprise.” She grinned as he finally did as she asked, noticing the coolness of his skin against hers and carefully led him inside the renovation works, until they reached the courtyard.
“Alright, you may look now.” She watched expectantly as he slowly opened his eyes, hers sparkling.
On the main sign was written: “Palatul Voievodal - Curtea Veche”. He slowly let go of her hands, gently brushing her skin as he looked around them in slight awe. His gaze landed on the medieval building in front of them, partly in ruins, being restored. The old Court of Bucharest. The last remains of the citadel he built in 1459. She quietly joined him as he took a few steps, looking around them.
“ It still needs to be fully renovated, but we do not have the exact building plans, so it takes time. I was supervising the XV century part, before leaving for England.” She whispered, almost afraid to disturb him as he examined the building.
“I thought they had destroyed it…” He turned toward her, curious.
“Well, they built over the ruins of the fifteenth century, so when we started the excavations, we decided to renovate a part of the first Court building. There is even a statue of you down the yard, but it does not do you justice.” She gave him an amused grin, crossing her arms as he lifted a brow.
"I've been helping you with your thesis for more than three weeks, and it never crossed your mind that I'd be interested to know about this?" He looked around them once again.
"Well, I'd rather show you the site than brag about something you cannot even see. And as I told you, we lack information regarding the original building, it would bother me that it turns out inaccurate." He laughed at this.
"Yes, I think I came to learn this is something you hate Ihrin." He smiled at her, and for once in a very long time, she could see it was a genuine smile. "But why are they renovating it now, after all those centuries ?"
"As you know, the citadel became quite popular among boyards and voivodes after your death. In 1659, the capital was moved from Târgoviște to Bucharest. It's a big part of the city's history and the government allowed excavations here." He looked around a moment, before going back to her.
" Would you mind if we take a closer look at the inside renovations?"
" I'm afraid I don't have the key anymore." She stepped closer to the entrance with him and stared as he bent over the lock. "What are you doing?" He gave her an innocent smile as he pushed the gate open and entered.
"How silly of them to have left it open…" he grinned. "Please Ihrin, come in." She bit her lower lip as she suppressed a smile and followed, let him put a hand on her back to guide her through the obscurity as she searched for her mobile to use the flashlight.
After the hallway, they took the stairs to go down, deeper into the basement. As they walked, he described to her the many rooms they were passing by, the one created under his rules and the ones added after him. They stopped at the old counsel room, and he scanned the wall for a moment.
"Ihrin, come over here." He watched her expectantly as she joined him, pointing her flashlight on the wall. "What do you see?"
At first, she wanted to reply 'nothing' but she took a closer look. The wall was old and used, the joins of the walls were crumbling, all except a part of the wall, where a torch was probably hanging, long ago. She brushed the stones with the tip of her fingers until she found a stone pressed further in the wall.
"A passage way ... Of course you would build one, you wouldn't trust the boyards to be left alone with you without being able to escape if they were to set up a trap and betray you…" she whispered as she brushed the stone, missing his proud smile. "How could they have missed that… Where does it lead? Outside the old citadel walls? " His breath tickled her ear as he leaned toward her, his torso against her back and his hand coming to rest on top of her against the wall.
"There's only one way to find out…" He offered her a charming smile and the strange feeling came back as she looked into his eyes, their faces close again.
He gently pressed her hand against the stone, creating an opening in the wall. "Shall we?"
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