Annabel Sarin was a proud and beautiful woman. She had married well at a young age and now spent her time traveling between all her favorite venues in Europe. On this occasion she found herself at Brandauer Castle in Austria where she was the honored guest of the Count and Countess.
The entertainment for the evening was a formal ball which gave her the opportunity to showcase one of her stunning silk gowns. She made her entrance properly, pausing on the landing of the ballroom's double staircase as she was introduced.
"The Lady Annabel Sarin of Queensbury!" the stuffy man servant announced to the room.
She descended the stairs with finished dignity, her chin held high as she acknowledged the looks of admiration directed at her with subtle nods. She wore a wig that was so intricate it could more rightly be considered architecture and her large eyes were made even more striking by artfully applied black mascara. The Count and Countess quickly introduced her to several of their high born guests who were immediately charmed by her regal bearing and engaging physical beauty. She floated from one group to another before the orchestra opened with The Blue Danube and the Count had the honor of leading the waltz with her as his partner. They glided over the floor like figures in a music box and at the end of the dance the Count bowed deeply before releasing her hand. And so this evening proceeded like all of Annabel Sarin's evenings proceeded, with perfect graciousness.
But unbeknownst to her at that time, Lady Sarin was being watched by unseen eyes.
After the ball Lady Sarin returned to her room with the satisfied feeling she always had after social events of this kind. She freed herself from her layers of finery and then popped open her corset which allowed her large breasts and voluptuous belly to finally breathe. After her long bloomers were also shed, she squatted down naked over the chamber pot in the center of the room and released a deluge of hot urine into it, filling it almost to the brim. Her body had God-given health and firmness and she had no need for rear attachments to her corsetry since her buttocks naturally protruded quite prominently.
She walked to the basin and soaped her hands, washing her face before moving the lather over her breasts and underarms. Finally she washed her overgrown crotch and then rinsed herself methodically with the sponge.
Then she did a series of exercise moves she had seen in one of the new physical culture magazines. She spread her legs and bent over to touch her toes left hand to right foot and visa versa. Then with her legs still spread she squatted down and shifted her body deeply from side to side like a speed skater.
It was then she became aware of a thumping noise coming from behind the wall opposite the bed. She stopped in mid stretch to listen. The sound stopped as well. She continued with her bent over stretches again and the sound returned. She stopped a second time and the sound ceased again. She walked over to the wall and listened, but heard nothing.
Having been made somewhat uneasy by the mysterious noises, she decided to put on her night gown and go to bed. But after she turned off the lamps and got between the cool sheets of the canopy bed, she lay awake with the lingering feeling that there was something amiss in the castle.
The next morning she by chance saw a strange little man in the hallway on her way to breakfast. He leered at her in a way that made her sick. It appeared that he was one of the workers there so she followed proper etiquette and overlooked the perceived offense. However after returning that day from a trip into the countryside with her hosts she encountered the man again, leering as he had before. She decided to chide him for his rudeness.
"Excuse me sir, but I do take offense with the way you look towards me!" she announced to him.
The little man leered all the more as she spoke to him. Then he replied.
"I'm sorry, my lady, I've just never seen anyone as beautiful as you before." he replied, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
"Well could you in the future avoid eye contact with me please!" she commanded.
"Yes, my lady," he replied, his eyes still devouring her.
In the days that followed she had the feeling his eyes were on her wherever she went. They were eyes that saw through to her nakedness no matter how many layers she wore. They spoke of indecency and foul deeds and she couldn't seem to wash their dirty intent off of her. That evening she had a dream that a man entered her bed with stinking breath and cold hands. He clung to her from behind until she was able to push him off. That's when she saw it was the little man with the carnivorous eyes.
The next morning she awoke to the same thumping sound coming from behind the wall. Then when she looked down she saw her bed covers had shifted away exposing her naked legs. The thumping sound increased in frequency and urgency and then trailed off just as quickly. Annabel had had enough. She put on her robe, went out into the hall and knocked on the door of the neighboring guest room. After quite some time a tall, handsome man answered.
"Good morning, sir," she said with more than a hint of indignity, "My name is Lady Annabel Sarin and I was wondering if you know anything about the knocking sound that is coming from the wall between our rooms?"
The man paused in thought briefly before a flash of recognition broke over his face.
"Yes, I have heard a knocking sound as well!" he answered earnestly.
"You have?!" she replied with relief, "Well at least I'm not going mad!"
"No madam," he continued, "these old castles unfortunately do have vermin that run about within the walls."
The thought of vermin scurrying about inside the walls disgusted her, but not as much as the thought of being watched by that little man. Her regal smile returned.
"That does seem to make sense," she laughingly agreed, "even if it is a bit disquieting."
"My name is Baron Von Chesler and I am more than glad to be at your service Lady Sarin if you need any further assistance." he pronounced with a slight bow of his head.
"Thank you, kind sir." she replied, "I won't hesitate."
She returned to her room feeling a bit foolish but somewhat more self-assured. Rats could make thumping noises, especially if they were mating, she concluded. But she quickly pushed that disgusting thought out of her mind. She was a lady and people in her station didn't recognize such vile things. She determined to tell the chamber maid about it when she saw her next.
That afternoon as they played croquet on the back lawn, Annabel thought she saw a dark figure moving behind one of the parapets of the castle. Was it the strange little man again, she wondered? When she reported the sighting to a fellow guest at dinner, the bejeweled woman related the sad tale of the Count's brother, Klaus, who had returned from the last war a broken man. His mental illness had soon progressed to full blown insanity and the family was forced to confine him to one of the upper bastions on the property.
"It was the Count's mad brother that you probably saw on the parapet, Lady Sarin." the woman asserted.
Annabel Sarin listened to the story intently. It seemed to explain all the feelings and phenomena she'd been experiencing since her arrival. There was indeed madness and malevolence afoot in this castle.
Later in the evening as she climbed the side stairs to her room the strange little man appeared again and tried to stop her at the landing. She retreated but he continued to advance, his hands held out, saying he had something to tell her. Lady Sarin could see nothing but those vulture eyes coming at her. When she realized she could retreat no further, she unleashed a kick to the little man's groin that stopped him in his tracks. His face registered shock at first, but then he seemed to grin again and continue. Annabel Sarin then drove home a second kick to the man's crotch that had such force it seemed to lift him up off the ground slightly. After this kick the little man's vulture smile turned to nausea and he involuntarily vomited on the spot. As he stood there doubled over, she slid along the wall until she was clear of him and then ran up the stairs to her room.
