Paw Prints Along The Rhine

It soon became clear even to me, Beuaregard a cat, that notable people were staying at the Rhinewatch Inn. The most important of these was an exiled Prince from Wallachia, named Vlad Tepes, Vlad Dracula, or Kaziki Bey by the Turkish. He was on his way south to his own country, and had stopped for a few days of rest. Vlad and his retinue occupied the entire top, fifth floor of the inn. Guards with razor sharp swords and mean tempers insured no one, at least no two-legged purrson, could reach them. Vlad’s harsh reputation preceded him, and few if any of the staff wanted to go near the top floor. Even the hounds living on the premises kept two floors below his rooms. However, curious as my kind is, I decided to sneak upstairs and see the greatly feared, Count Dracula. Steeling myself for what was to come. As I am a Christian cat, I said a little prayer to Jesus, and then, just to be on the safe side, petitioned the cat deity Bastet to protect me. Once it was quiet in the inn, I crept out of my room and up the wooden stairs to the top floor. Two guards stood at the uppermost landing, but with the hour being late and me being only a cat, they let me pass. From there it was not hard to get into the great Prince’s quarters, so I could see the great man within. Entering the room, I was surprised to see an ordinary looking human sitting at a small writing table. This human, who everyone seemed to fear, was humming a song from his homeland and writing with a feathered quill. He had short legs, a long, thin face and nose, and a large ‘handlebar’ mustache. However, he was very stocky and looked strong. I could just see his eyes, which in the light of the single candle seemed very green. “He’s not very scary looking,” I thought as I took position on a shelf behind him. “even for a human,” Vlad was writing his thanks to someone in Nuremberg, Germany, for his recent induction into the ‘Order of the Dragon.’ I knew about this honor from my study of human history. Only Christian men, who showed great courage fighting the Ottoman Turks, got this. His nickname ‘Dracula’ meant “Son of the Dragon.” Now, he was a Dragon in his own right. In the missive, Vlad vowed to conduct himself like a Christian, and promised he would not be as harsh with his enemies if he returned to power. I knew from my reading that he would be true to this vow. While he would get the throne back in 1475, his Christian rule left him much weaker, leading to his one and only defeat by the Ottoman Turks, and his alleged death. However, I knew a look-a-like would die of wounds from the battle, while he slipped away to live on. This battle would be near Bucharest in December of 1476.