CHAPTER 1

Penelope stared at the brown envelope as she closed the door. It was postmarked Straussberg, Germany. "Now who would I know in Germany?" she thought. She knew she had never been there, but somebody must know her. Slowly she opened the envelope and pulled out a letter, some official-looking documents, and a small envelope. She sat on the sofa and began reading.

"Dear Ms. Kemper:

Let me introduce myself. I am Herr Claus Stricker, Lawyer. This letter is being sent to you on behalf of the Estate of the late Count Von Kempstein. After searching diligently for the last five years, we have found you to be the last surviving heir.

Along with the letter are official documents showing ownership, your family lineage, and map to the estate. If it is possible, please come as soon as possible to claim your inheritance.

Yours truly,
Herr Stricker"

Penelope put down the letter and began reading over the documents. After an hour, she was still amazed. "How could I be related to a Count? Mom and dad said nothing, neither did grandma or grandpa. This has to be a joke," she thought, but just to be sure she called her friend, Caroline, who worked for a lawyer who handled estates. She explained about the package she received. Caroline said she would be right over.

A half hour later Caroline arrives. "Okay, Penny, let's see the letter." She read the letter and the accompanying documents. "It looks legal enough. Imagine, inheriting an estate. Where is this Straussberg?"

"I have no idea, Caroline? I know that Germany is divided into different areas. Let's check my world atlas."

They carefully looked over the map, till they found the name. "Looks like it's near the border of Czechoslovakia. If my geography isn't too off, that's what they call the Black Forest," Penelope said.

"Are you going to this Straussberg?" Caroline asked. Penelope thought a minute. "Oh, why not." "Hey! What's in the smaller envelope?" Caroline asked.

"I forgot about that one." Penelope opened it, pulling out an airline ticket. "It seems whoever it was sure that I would come, seeing to my transportation. This is a first class ticket, too." Looking at Caroline, "How would you like to accompany a Countess?" she asked with a haunty air.

"Just say when, milady," Caroline replied with a haunty voice of her own. Both the girls laughed. "How about in a couple of days?" "I'll be ready."

CHAPTER 2

The girls flew into Berlin, then hired a car for the four hour drive to Straussberg. When the girls first saw the town, it was as if they had stepped back in time to the 18th century.

"This is weird. It's like we stepped back in time," Penelope remarked. She pointed to one of the citizens who was on a cart being pulled by a horse.

The people stared at the strange vehicle as it went through, not used to seeing strangers. The girls stopped in front of a building. "This must be it," Penelope said, looking at the name on the sign. They got out and went inside. A man was seated at a desk, dressed the same as the citizens, having long sideburns and moustache. He looked up. "May I help you?"

"My name is Penelope Kemper. This is my friend, Caroline Fischer. I'm the one you sent the letter to." "AHH! Fraulein Kemper. I'm glad you could make it," motioning for them to sit down. "I know you have a lot of questions in regard to the documents sent you. Be assured, they are legitimate. It took us quite a while to find you."

"I'm still in a state of amazement, Herr Stricker. How could I be related to this Count Von Kempstein? No one in the family ever talked about being related to a Count."

"When we looked through the lineage, we found that when they immigrated to America, they changed their last name, keeping only the name of Kemp, adding the 'er" on the end. It took us five years to trace the family down as they had moved quite a bit."

"From the look of the town, it's like nothing has changed in nearly 300 years." "Basically nothing has changed. The people here prefer to live as their ancestors did."

Both girls looked amazed. "Why are you here? Surely being a lawyer in a town this size doesn't afford much of a living."

Herr Stricker smiled. "I did leave for a while, but only to get my education. I came back as I preferred a much simpler way of life than the outside world. I also came back as my family has been the executor of the estate for that length of time."

"Why did they immigrate to America? What could have made them?" "That, Ms. Kemper, I cannot tell you. You will have to find that out on your own."

The girls sat there with raised brows. "Why can't you tell me?" she asked. "I made a promise I wouldn't reveal any of the details. That is all I can say."

"Is there someplace we can stay at for the night? We've traveled straight here without stopping." "Yes, just a few buildings down the street. Here are the directions and the key to the manor."

CHAPTER 3

The girls left the office and drove the short ways down, spotting the inn. Taking their bags in, the girls registered then were shown to their room. The innkeeper had stared at Penelope the entire time while they registered, mumbling in German. She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Did you see the look on the man's face, Caroline?"

"He looked at you as if he was seeing a ghost. He almost didn't want to give us the room. There are some weird people here. Well, I'm hungry. Let's see if they have a decent place to eat."

Word had gotten around quickly of the strangers, especially of Penelope. As they sat in the local restaurant, everyone looked at them, whispering amongst themselves. The girls ate, trying not to pay any attention to the stares. As they went to pay for their meal, the owner shook his head, gesturing to them they could leave. The girls shrugged their shoulders and went back to the inn to turn in for the night.

The next morning, the girls took their bags to the car. Penelope paid for the room, the man looking relieved they were leaving. With directions and key in hand, they set off for the estate, Penelope driving. The scenery as they drove was very picturesque. Caroline took pictures of the farms and the forest areas. Suddenly it ended. Penelope stopped at a crossroad. Looking at the map, she looked to see they were to go to the right. As she turned on to the road, the landscape became different. The road became narrow and full of curves. She found herself driving very slowly because of the ruts and sharp curves in the road. The forest surrounding them seemed to shut out the sunlight, making it look dark and foreboding.

"Damn, Penny! It looks like night and it's only mid-morning! I'm getting the heebee jeebies and we haven't seen the place yet."

"So am I, " Penelope replied, turning on her headlights. An hour later they reached a turn. "This has to be it. The directions say the first right after the crossroad."

She turned to go up the road. The road was just as treacherous and the first. Penelope drove very slowly, sometimes crawling along and dodging boulders that seemed to appear suddenly. "I get the feeling something is trying to keep us from getting there. I've never seen such large rocks." As she rounded a curve, she saw a huge building a short distance away. "Oh my God, Penny! That's not a house, that's a damn castle!" Caroline exclaimed.

Penelope was just as surprised, unable to say anything. Suddenly she jammed on the brakes. In front of them was a huge tree across the road. Both girls sat for a couple of minutes. It was obvious they could not move it. "Well, it looks like we walk from here," Penelope said.

Getting out, they got their bags and began the half-mile walk. As they walked, Penelope got the feeling they were being watched. She pulled a flashlight out and shined it toward the dark trees, seeing nothing.

CHAPTER 4

The house loomed larger as they came closer. The girls craned their necks looking up. "Whoo! This is some place!" Caroline exclaimed. "Are you sure you didn't know anything about this?"

"No. No one ever said a word about it. You would have thought they would have bragged about it. Evidently they didn't even know about it. I would like to know how that lawyer could have traced the family in only five years. If my relatives moved a lot, they couldn't have left much of anything behind to trace. Something weird is going on."

Clouds began to move in, making it even darker. Lightning began to flash, followed by loud claps of thunder. "We'd better hurry and get inside," Penelope said.

The girls ran as fast as they could to the front doors. Every step they ran the thunder became louder, as if pushing them to hurry. At first the key wouldn't turn, the rain coming down hard, soaking the girls in a matter of minutes. Finally the door unlocked. The girls picked up their bags and hurried inside.

They stood in the hallway, shivering from the rain. "I wonder if there's a way we could build a fire. "I'm cold," Caroline said, her teeth beginning to chatter. Penelope looked around and found a couple of candles. Taking some matches she kept in her purse, she lit them, giving one to Caroline. "This is not going to warm me up," Caroline said.

Penelope just shook her head. "Very funny. Let's see if we can find the living room, drawing room, or whatever they called it."

They walked down the hallway, wiping away the cobwebs in front of them. Looking to her left, Penelope saw a set of double doors. Opening them, she saw a fireplace. "Well, now that we have a fireplace, let's see if we can find something to start a fire with."

The girls left the room to look around for anything they could use. Caroline found some old broken chairs. Carrying the pieces back, Penelope stacked them in the fireplace. Soon a fire was burning, the girls held their hands up to the fire, relishing its warmth. The girls saw sheets over the furniture. Carefully removing them, they were surprised to see the furniture looking like new.

"Maybe someone came and cleaned, then covered it back up." "I rather doubt it. How do you account for the cobwebs in the hallway, and the fact that the sheets were heavy with dust."

"I'm getting hungry," Caroline said, rubbing her stomach as it churned. "We forgot to bring food with us." "We have to go back into town to get a few things to clean up this place, so we'll pick up some supplies," Penelope said.

She looked above the fireplace. A large portrait hung just above the mantle. She saw it was a young man with wavy brown hair, hazel eyes, and a disarming smile. He stood tall and erect, his build reminded her of someone who had worked out a lot. The clothes he wore looked like they may have been bought from outside the area, not the wool-dyed articles she had seen the citizens wear. She reached up and touched it. As her fingers made contact, she felt a burning sensation. Quickly she pulled them away.

CHAPTER 5 Penelope had noticed the eyes seemed to come alive when she touched it. She blinked, thinking she had just seen them move.

"What's the matter?" Caroline asked. "I touched a bit of the picture and it burned my fingers. And I swear I saw those eyes move." She continued to look at the picture.

"Penny, you're seeing things. I have to say, that was one damn good looking man. I would have loved to have met him."

Penelope smiled. "That's you, Caroline. Let's explore the rest of the house. Maybe we'll find out where the bedrooms are."

Picking up the candles they left the living room seeing the stairway just to their right. They slowly climbed, gingerly testing each step before advancing. When they reached the top, Penelope pointed to her left. Going down the corridor, they opened each room, seeing the furniture was covered. At the last room, they went in.

There was a large room with a sofa, love seat, and a couple of chairs in the middle of the room. A small desk and chair were in the corner. Beyond the sofa was a door. Entering they saw what was a huge four-poster bed, with a huge velvet cover. The window drapes were the same material and color as the bed cover. The girls stopped.

"Caroline, do you notice anything odd about this room?" Caroline looked around. "Other than no cobwebs...Oh! no cobwebs. Everything here looks clean." "Right." Penelope noticed a portrait just like the one in the living room. "This must have been his room," she said. "Caroline! Be careful! The bed may not be safe to sit on!"

Caroline sat on the bed, jumping up and down several times. "The bed's fine. Look! Its sturdy!" Then she fell back on the soft bed. "Oh, this bed feels good. Come on, Penny, try it!"

Cautiously Penelope sat on the bed, finding it didn't break. She too began going up and down, then fell back on the bed. "You're right! It does feel good! Looks like we'll stay in this room. I'll go downstairs and get our bags."

Penelope left to get the bags in the hallway. As she got to the stairway, she nearly tripped over the bags. Hearing her holler, Caroline ran to the hallway, seeing Penelope standing there.

"Caroline, tell me if I'm wrong, but weren't our bags 'downstairs'? We didn't bring them with us when we came up the stairs, did we?" "We left them downstairs in the hallway." "Then how did they get up here?"

The girls became wide-eyed, looking around the hallway then at each other. "You know, common sense is telling us we should get the hell out. Why aren't we?" Penelope asked. A loud clap of thunder jolted them. "I think that's why," Caroline replied.

CHAPTER 6 Penelope listened to the thunder. It was as if it was telling her she was not to leave. Picking up her bag, she went back to the room, shaking from the incident of the past hour. Setting her bag on one of the chairs, she opened it to get out some dry clothes. Caroline set hers in a chair on the other side of the room. Before long the girls had changed into some dry clothes.

"Penny, I'm really hungry. I wish it wasn't storming so we could go back to town to get some food,"Caroline groaned. "Me too. My stomach's beginning to growl."

Caroline began to smell something. She got a puzzled look on her face. "Penny, do you smell something?" Penelope began sniffing. "You're right. I do smell something." Caroline's mouth began to water. "It's smelling so good." She went to the door. "It's coming from downstairs. I'm going down to check where it's coming from." She left to go downstairs.

Penelope draped their wet clothes over the couches and chairs, leaving to join Caroline. When she got to the bottom of the steps, she heard Caroline call. "Where are you at?" Penelope asked. "Back here!" Caroline hollered. Penelope went in the direction of her voice. "Where?" she asked as she looked around. "Penny, come and take a look!" Caroline yelled.

Penelope kept going, the aroma becoming stronger. She found herself going down some steps, turning to her right. She found Caroline in a room she figured was the kitchen. She was standing in front of a huge fireplace, a fire burning and a kettle hanging over it. "You want to lift the lid?" Caroline asked.

Penelope nodded. She touched the pot but quickly jerked her hand away as the pot was very hot. Looking around she found a hook. Catching the bar, she swung it towards them and carefully lifted the lid. Inside was something that looked like stew.

"Careful, Penny," Caroline cautioned. Penelope stuck her finger lightly in the pot, putting it in her mouth. "It tastes like stew." Finding a spoon nearby she stirred it, seeing meat and vegetables. The girls looked at each other, wondering if they should eat it or not. Finally their hunger got the best of them.

Penelope carried the pot to the table; plates already set out. She dished up the food, the girls sitting down to eat. They ate as if they couldn't get enough. "This is sooooo good!" Caroline said with a grin. "I've never had food so good," Penelope added, dishing more on her plate. "Hey! Save some for me!" Caroline exclaimed, grabbing the spoon to get more.

Soon they had eaten the whole pot. The girls sat back in their chairs, their hunger more than satisfied. Soon they became sleepy. Getting their strength, they got up and walked down the hallway and upstairs to their room. When they got there, they laid down, pulling the covers over them as they drifted to sleep.

CHAPTER 7

While the girls slept, the picture slowly moved, the figure coming to life. Walking through the door to the girls' room, it stood over them as they slept. It's fingers touched Penelope's hair. "Well, my cousin. At last you have come to lift the curse from me and my friend. You two are our only hope. I must get him. He will want to see you."

Penelope stirred, the figure disappeared. She opened her eyes and looked around. "I swear I heard someone," she said to herself, then went back to sleep.

The girls slept the rest of the day and night. The next morning, Penelope woke up, seeing streams of sunlight coming in the window. She thought to last night. Had someone come in the room?

She shook Caroline. "Come on, Caroline, wake up. Let's get into town to pick up some supplies." Caroline slowly opened her eyes. "Is it morning already? Man, did I ever sleep!" She got up and stretched. "What I wouldn't do for a cup of coffee."

"We'll see if they have any in town. Let's get cleaned up." The girls dressed, going downstairs to the kitchen to get buckets. "There has to be a well around here, probably in the back."

When the girls entered the kitchen, they saw the buckets on the table, filled with water. The girls looked at each other. "You know, Penny, it seems that whatever we need, we get. It's like someone knows and 'poof' it's there."

"Yeah," Penelope said, her mind on last night still. "Well, let's get washed up and into town to get the supplies." After the girls washed up, they made a list of what was needed to clean. They decided to grab some breakfast while in town. They left to walk the half mile to the car. When they got there, they saw the tree had been moved.

"Here we go again. I didn't imagine a tree was across the road." "I saw it too. You weren't imagining it." Penelope shrugged her shoulders. They both got in the car. Penelope turned the car around and drove into town. "Caroline, I think while we're in town I'll check the town hall. They have to have records of who all lived here." "Do you think they go back that far?" "I don't know, but it won't hurt to check."

CHAPTER 8 The figure in the painting had watched the girls. When they left the room, he stopped out of the picture. Seeing their luggage, he went over and looked. He saw the letter the lawyer had sent. He noticed the name was Kemper, not Von Kempstein. But there was no mistaking the features. She was definitely his cousin. He wondered who her friend was. He had heard her call her Caroline. He smiled. "She's kind of cute," he thought.

He turned when he heard footsteps. His friend came through the door. "Well, it seems, Erik, my cousin has come to inherit the property." "How do you know it's her?" "She looked a lot like my mother. There was no mistaking the resemblance."

"I wonder if she'll be able to break the curse? For a couple of hundred years we've been ghosts. I'm tired of it. I want to be human again." "So do I, Erik. I think she has enough curiosity to find out what happened, but she's going to need some help from us."

"But what can we do? We can't go beyond the property line." "True," Karl said sadly. "If I remember, your mother was very beautiful. Is she the same?" "Yes, she is. Her friend is cute too. I think you'll like my cousin." "Karl, remember, we're ghosts." Karl took a deep breath. "It's been so long - for the both of us. Well, let's see if we can help them out."

When the girls got into town, Penelope had Caroline go to the local market while she went to the town hall. She asked the clerk to show her the records. He was reluctant at first, but gave in when he saw how adamant she was about it.

He brought her the books dated from 1600-1850. Penelope looked through the names till she came to the names and birth dates of the Von Kempstein family. She read through the pages. Then she stopped. She saw the last recorded birth was that of Karl Von Kempstein. Reading on she found something puzzling, there was no recorded date of his death. "That's odd," she thought. Reading further she saw how some of them had immigrated to America. Out of curiosity she read further. She saw a family who had a son born a couple of years earlier. Reading down she saw there was also no recorded death. "I wonder if there is a connection." She noted the name, Erik Von Marchinoff. Looking around, she wrote down the names and birth dates. Something told her that this had something to do with her ancestors coming to America, but how?

Giving the books back to the clerk, she left and went over to the small store. Caroline was about finished with the shopping. "Did you find out anything?" "Only their names and dates of birth, but no recorded dates of when they died. It's like they just disappeared.

Part 2

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