This story is not exactly cannon to the events of the Dark Shadows series. It's sort of a "what if" kind of story. Again, this contains some sexual references, so be warned.
On the second night, Victoria was quietly looking out Josette's bedroom window, and then started getting ready to go back to Collinwood. By 8:30 PM, the storm had already calmed down, so it seemed like the appropriate time to get back to her normal routine. Of course, she was not entirely sure if she wanted to go back or not, but she knew she had to. She picked up her purse, blew out the candles, and walked downstairs. The floors creaked with every step she took and the hallway seemed darker than the room she was in before.
She would have to admit that Barnabas had showed great hospitality to her when she came to visit him. The good thing was that she would have a chance to see him again. He often visits Collinwood anyway, so there was no need to worry.
About a few seconds after stopping in front of the front door, she was greeted once again by the ever so nervous Willie Loomis. What is it about this house that makes this man so worried? It is almost like he has had one too many nightmares after he had met Barnabas and he just cannot seem to get them out of his mind. That seemed like a possible explanation. But why? Why is he so jumpy when someone comes into this house? Little Vicky might never know. She turned around toward Willie and looked at him with a rather curious expression.
"Willie," Vicky said. "What's the matter?"
"Oh, nothing," Willie replied. "Where you goin'?"
Vicky was not quite surprised that the frightened boy would ask such a question. He tended to be a little bit nosy whenever there were visitors at the Old House.
"Well, I'm going back to Collinwood," Vicky replied. "Why?"
"Well, eh..." Willie just could not seem to find the right words to say. He opened his mouth for a little bit, but the words just could not come out. Vicky was becoming so confused. She was half-tempted to say something like "I don't understand", but she decided not to. He probably already knew that from the look on the girl's face.
"Vicky, I don't think you want to go back to Collinwood tonight."
"What? But, why?"
Willie tried to find some kind of excuse to back up his sudden outburst. Usually, he is heard warning her to leave the Old House and stay as far away from Barnabas as possible. But now he's telling her that she should stay here? Vicky looked at Willie with a rather confused expression like a deer gazing at a car passing by.
"Because it's too foggy," Willie thought. "No, she would go out anyway. Besides, it is not really that misty outside anyway. 'You might get attacked.' Wait, no! She would laugh if he said that. Then again, she might not. She would just shrug it off. Vicky is willing to take that chance to go back home, even if she is alone."
Willie had kept coming up with even more ridiculous excuses to keep her where she is. As he thought, Vicky started to suspect that something was not right. "You need to rest for the night," He thought. Now how come Willie did not tell her that this morning? Wait, it was still storming outside, she would not have gone out anyway. Good grief! The poor boy just had to think of something to say to her!
"Well," Willie stumbled. I just don't think it's safe outside at this time of night!"
"Willie," Vicky said in confusion. "It's been storming all day outside, you haven't let me go out all day. It just stopped raining, and you still won't let me go back?"
The poor girl was as bewildered as ever. The look on her face just screamed "I am confused" as loud as her voice would have said it. Willie tried to explain; but instead, he was thinking of even more ways to distract her, as much as he hated to do so. At this point, he'll do anything just to shut this girl up and get her out of his hair!
"Well, it's too dark out," He replied. "Why don't you wait 'til mornin'?"
"Can't you take me back to Collinwood, then?" Vicky asked. "Everyone will be worried about me then!"
"No, I gotta take care of the house for Barnabas, remember?"
"Well, I'm still going back, Willie."
Willie looked out the window on the front door, and saw that it was pitch black outside. No one could possibly be able to see where they were going for miles! This gave him the perfect idea. He asked Vicky in the most convincingly worried manner, "Didn't you bring a flashlight when you got here?"
An expression of aggravation flashed upon her face. The thought of bringing a flashlight had never even crossed her mind. At the night before, she had walked all the way to the Old House at the same moment that the sun had set. Now, there she was, about to walk out the door without even a single candle to light her way! In her mind, she was shouting at herself, "Curse me! Now what?!"
Looking away with a sigh of defeat, she decided to stop what she was doing and relax in the parlor instead. She did not even bother to say anything. She really did not feel that good about her tiny mistake. Forgetting a flashlight was usually not a major issue. But now, it seemed like she had trapped herself in a pitch black cave. She sat down on one of the chairs and began thinking. She thought about how she would have handled the situation differently. She could have asked someone like Carolyn or Roger to drive her to the Old House. She could have just kept a flashlight in her purse in case of emergency, but that would not be very practical as there is little room in her small purse for a huge flashlight. It would have been too heavy to comfortably carry around anyway. She was tempted to bring a candle from one of the rooms and go back to Collinwood anyway; but that would mean she would have to bring it back later. She did not want to go through all that trouble to get home just to go back to the place she was in before. She was so stressed that her head started to ache.
Meanwhile, the head of the household, Barnabas Collins, was just coming out of the study, taking with him a fairly large book that looked like it was over a hundred years old. As he entered the hallway, he noticed that Willie was still standing by the stairway as he was when he was talking to Vicky. Just looking at his face, the suspicious vampire could sense his every thought and feeling that he felt. He looked toward the parlor and noticed little Victoria Winters pouting in front of the fireplace. What could be her problem? He saw that she had her purse set beside the chair she was sitting in. Was she trying to leave this house? He walked closer toward Willie and grabbed his shoulder to get his attention. The young lad let out a quiet yelp and jumped back. He did not expect his master to sneak up on him like this. Although, he's been known to do just that.
"Barnabas! What do you want?!" Willie said nervously.
"Did you do what I told you, Willie?" Barnabas asked. Willie hesitated for a moment to think of a simple way to explain what happened.
"Uh, yeah. I tried to keep Vicky in the house like you asked. Why?"
"That's good. But what's wrong with Ms. Winters?"
"Well... she, uh. She..."
"You didn't say or do anything that might have hurt her... did you?"
Willie looked at the pouting girl, and he suddenly felt even more nervous than before. He never took her reactions into consideration, and yet, if he did hurt her feelings in any way, there was nothing he could do about it. He was too nervous to answer even though he did not hurt Vicky in any way.
"DID YOU?" Barnabas said impatiently.
"No!" Willie answered.
"Good. You are dismissed for the night."
"Well, good night, Barnabas."
"Good night."
With that, Willie walked upstairs and into his chambers. Barnabas looked up at him until he was in his room and out of sight. His brown eyes darted towards Victoria in the parlor. Vicky was still sitting in that same chair; the same one Julia has often sat in. Barnabas approached her silently and stood right beside her.
"What's the matter, Vicky?" he asked. Victoria did not say anything. She just kept staring out into space. Barnabas sat down in the chair beside hers hoping that she would see him. Unfortunately, she was already preoccupied with her thoughts, daydreaming as she was staring blankly at him without realizing it.
"Vicky," said Barnabas. "If something is troubling you, you can always tell me."
Vicky finally awoke from her daydream and looked at Barnabas. She could see that he was greatly concerned about her. She then replied, "Maybe this has happened for a reason."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, maybe you couldn't tell last night, but I somehow had this feeling."
"Feeling?"
"Yes. When you were reading to me, I somehow felt that... I kind of felt like... like we..."
Barnabas became quite puzzled. What is the poor girl trying to say? She was practically tongue-tied, and after a few pauses, she suddenly blurted out quietly, "I felt like... like we were meant to be together!"
Barnabas was almost surprised that Victoria would say such a thing. She has never admitted to anything regarding their relationship. He was used to Vicky treating him only as a friend. He suspected that she had been hiding her feelings from him all along. Quite unexpected, as she had never hidden her feelings from her other past lovers before. He had planned to use this night as an opportunity to quench his thirst like he had tried to do many times before. But now, he had decided not to, as that would ruin his chances of maintaining Vicky's trust in him. Besides, who would want a hypnotized zombie for a wife? He had already turned Carolyn into his slave, and he was not going to do that to poor Vicky.
"Why, Vicky," Barnabas replied. "I never would've guessed. You've never really shown any feelings for me before."
"I know. But now, I just really had to tell you. I was always fascinated with you ever since the day we met. You were so... different from other men. You were kind, polite, and you're truly a gentleman. I've never felt this way about you before until yesterday."
Barnabas' heart was racing as the girl told him her every thought about him. His face grew hot as if all of his blood was racing up to his head. Perhaps this time, he had found the right woman to take Josette's place. He had never felt this way in many many years. He knew that to make Vicky into his beloved Josette, she had to come to him willingly; and she did just that. Everything seemed to be going according to plan in his mind.
"Hold on, Barnabas," Vicky said. "Let me look at you."
The flushing vampire sat still in his seat and looked at her in silence. He did not seem to know how to respond to what she had just said. Meanwhile, Vicky leaned over toward Barnabas and stared into his eyes. At that moment, she had noticed something that she had never noticed before. As the candlelight shone on his face, his eyes also seemed have a faint orange red glow in the dim light. It was almost as if he was part cat; but how can that be? Then again, a normal human would never have glowing eyes. It is just not possible. Victoria, looking at the mysterious man, seemed to be both baffled and mesmerized.
"Is something wrong?" Barnabas said curiously.
"Oh no. It's just that your eyes... they look..."
"Beautiful?"
"Well, I wasn't going to say that. But now that you mentioned it, they do have sort of a mysterious vibe in a way."
"Vibe?"
"You know, they seem to stare deeply into the soul... or at least that's how I see them."
"Well, that's quite understandable. After all, the eyes are indeed the windows to the soul."
A shy modest smile crept on Vicky's face and she giggled quietly to herself. She had heard that same saying many times, but she never even thought so deeply about it before. "The eyes are the windows to the soul," she said to herself. She stared deeper into the man's eyes. It seemed that the longer she looked at him like this, the more mesmerized she seemed to become. Just as Barnabas seemed to stare deeply into Vicky's soul, Vicky seemed to be looking into his. Soon, she felt a tingling feeling in her stomach as she looked at him. She seemed to be feeling weaker now than usual. It was the same feeling she had experienced when she was in love with Burke Devlin. It was official; she had practically fallen head over heels for this man!
"I guess you're right." the smiling girl said. "I know this is a silly question, but if I ever leave from this place, would you remember me?"
Barnabas tried to keep himself from laughing, but he got up from his seat and simply replied, "Why yes. Yes I will."
"You will?" said Vicky.
"Always." After he said that, he took Vicky's hand and helped her up. Vicky was surprised to find her tiny hand held in the hand of her closest friend. She grabbed the other as well. Both of them were holding each other's hands as if they were glued together. After gazing at one another, they slowly darted closer to each other, gazing at one another.
"After Burke disappeared, though," Vicky said. "I'm still not sure if I'm ready for this yet." This had left her wondering, where was this situation going? Is she ready to be in a new relationship? Is she ready to start over fresh? She was so confused; she did not know what to think or what to do. She wanted to tell Barnabas something. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.
"Well," Barnabas replied. "I'm sure that in time, you'll be ready for anything that comes to you; and believe me, I've been through a similar situation that you were in, so I know this is true." He started moving closer and closer to her, yet she tried to resist and move backward. However, she could not move; her legs were shaking and her head could not tilt back enough without breaking her neck. She seemed uncomfortable with being in this position. There was just no escape from the clutches of Barnabas Collins. So, she just went along with it. Whatever happens to her happens.
Sensing this weakness of hers, he gently pulled her close and there they stood literally face to face. Barnabas lightly pecked Victoria's lips. What a nice gesture; but poor Vicky wanted more than this! To the vampire's surprise, she stood up on the tip of her toes and gave him a wet and juicy kiss, about five or six in fact. Barnabas responded back to her in the same way, sucking on her moist, plump lips, and at the same time, placing his hand on her hips. Vicky tried to protest against this sort of act, but it was impossible. She just could not speak; her voice would be muffled and unintelligible if she attempted to speak while kissing! She did not seem comfortable at all by this man's behavior. Many thoughts started to rush through her head: touching a lady's body without even asking her beforehand... how impolite! How ridiculous! How SCANDELOUS! Yet, he was so gentle with her, every stroke of his hand felt like soft silk flowing against her in the breeze. She soon started to melt with the very touch of his hand, feeling up her body, pressing against her. Her hips were pulled closer to his and Vicky became quite weak. As soon as they had stopped as the two of them tried to catch their breath, her legs started shaking, and she could barely stand.
"Barnabas," said Vicky.
"Yes, Vicky?" Barnabas replied.
"Take me to my room."
With that, Barnabas picked Victoria up off of the ground and walked up the stairs until, finally, he stopped at a dark room on the second floor. After lighting up the candles, Vicky looked around with great suspicion. She found herself in the master bedroom and not in Josette's room where she had slept before. The golden candlelight shone beautifully with the pink walls, looking like a red sunset. She watched as Barnabas pulled the drapes shut, the green silk blending with the color of his suit. In front of her stood a dark wood dresser, a large mirror on the wall hanging above it, and a very large bed with tastefully sewn sheets decorated with images of flowers. This looked absolutely nothing like Josette's room. This room looked much more masculine than hers.
"This isn't my room!" she exclaimed.
"No it is not," Barnabas replied. "But I think you'd be much more comfortable in here."
"But why? Josette's bed will do just fine."
"No. Alas, it is much too small. I think our night together would be more suitable if the bed would be large enough to fit the two of us. Don't you think so?"
At first, Vicky seemed puzzled about the situation. Soon, however, she agreed with what Barnabas had said. But is it the right time for her to put herself in such a position? Once again, she started to question whether or not she was ready to give herself entirely to him. Her heart started pounding every second she stood in the unfamiliar bedroom.
"Barnabas," Vicky said shyly. "I... I'm nervous."
Barnabas smiled and said to her softly, "Don't be. There's no need to worry, I won't hurt you."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely; and I'll do everything I can to keep you comfortable."
Vicky smiled a little and sat down on the edge of the bed. The soft spoken vampire lightly touched her shoulder. With him right beside her, she felt safe and secure. After all she has been through regarding Burke Devlin, could this be her second chance? She looked at her friend once again; he was smiling along with her, and his brown diamond-shaped eyes seemed to sparkle with the candlelight around the room.
"Go on," Barnabas coaxed. "Lay down."
Vicky did what she was told. There she was, lying calmly on the bed looking straight up at Barnabas as he smiled at her. Vicky truly felt at ease here. Once again, she found herself alone with the kindest man she had ever known.
"That's right." the vampire whispered. "Just relax, and everything will be fine..." Right when he said that, Vicky felt a strange sensation, like a tingling feeling down her spine. She remembered the night before when Barnabas was reading to her to help her fall asleep. The way he spoke to her was just like that, a soft, husky, yet soothing voice that was as smooth as velvet. Barnabas sat right beside her on the bed and leaned down toward her.
"So..." Vicky started. She was almost speechless. She has not been in a situation like this before. She remembers having her first kiss with Burke, how heart felt it was, and how exciting it seemed; but she has never gone anywhere further than that (thank goodness). This was like a brand new experience for her and she just did not know what to do next. She then said to Barnabas, "What are you going to do with me?"
Barnabas hushed her, placing his finger on her soft lips before she could say anything else.
"Don't worry," said Barnabas as he placed his hand on Victoria's chest. "I'll be really gentle with you, I promise."
That gave Vicky just a little bit more confidence in this mysterious man. She looked down and saw the vampire's hand sliding down her stomach and onto her thigh and he slowly started pulling her skirt upward just a little. Vicky did not feel the least bit uncomfortable. Why should she? She agreed to do this. Barnabas started caressing her as if he was petting a sleeping cat, and then afterwards, he slipped her dress off the rest of the way and dropped it on the floor. Vicky looked at herself, only half clothed on the bed while Barnabas was still wearing a suit and tie! Vicky thought to herself, "Well, that's not fair."
She sat right back up and reached out to grab Barnabas' jacket, pulling it off of him while being careful not to tear it. She then quickly undid his tie and unbuttoned his vest. After she pulled his vest off, Barnabas pulled Vicky closer to him. Vicky started to feel the warmth of his body yet still feeling the coldness of the room surrounding her. Barnabas lightly touched her waist; the subtle curves in her body, the delicate lace texture of her undergarments, and her soft skin made the vampire weak to the core.
He then pulled her even closer to him and pressed his lips against Victoria's. She had never expected such behavior from a man like him. However, she just could not resist; she wrapped her arms around the vampire's neck and kissed him as well. Then, to her surprise, she felt Barnabas' tongue creep into her mouth, slipping and sliding across hers. Victoria opened her mouth a little wider and slid her way into Barnabas as well, exploring every detail of his mouth as he was exploring hers at the same time. Her tongue had barely touched the vampire's fangs, though she never noticed it. Barnabas let out a quiet moan of pleasure as did Vicky. After about two minutes (though it felt more like five), the two of them stopped and gasped for air. Vicky then took this time to undo Barnabas' shirt, unbuttoning every button until his shirt was completely opened up. She pulled it the rest of the way off and saw a beautiful yet unusual figure standing before her. She felt up his torso, feeling every single detail and contour of his body from his subtlely built abdominals to his firm chest expanding with every breath he took in. His skin had an almost deathly pallor as if she was looking at a ghost; it was almost as if he was dead yet still alive at the same time. But that was impossible... or is it?
"Wait!" Vicky said. She moved further away from Barnabas, and looked at him nervously. "Are you sure we should do this?"
Barnabas froze in his place and said, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's just that I've never gotten this far before. I'm not sure if this is the right time... or the right place."
Barnabas approached Vicky and sat in front of her face to face, staring longingly at the anxious lady. Her eyes filled with curiosity and innocence just like a child. He stroked her hair and untied the ribbon in her ponytail. Vicky was not quite sure what to do next. Her mind kept telling her to leave the room immediately; but she quickly changed her mind when Barnabas lovingly stroked her cheek. The warmth of his hand had sent chills up her spine. Blinded by these intense feelings, Vicky finally decided to just simply "go with the flow" as they all like to call it. She relaxed and looked at her friend; Vicky's wide brown eyes looked like those of a sad puppy, and her voice sounded shaky and faint.
"Do what you want, Barnabas," she said, quivering by the gentle touch of her new lover. "But please don't hurt me."
"Now, what makes you think that I would hurt you?" the vampire replied. Vicky admitted that she had never partaken in any intimate activities other than just kissing, so of course she would be a little nervous. Barnabas pulled Victoria closer to him to embrace her; he could feel the poor girl shivering!
"What if Burke's still alive?" said Vicky. "What would he say?"
"Be realistic, I highly doubt that he is still out there." Barnabas replied. "Now let's try and forget about the past just this once. We only have until dawn. That may seem like a long time, but it goes by so fast. Too fast, in fact. It would seem like only a few minutes. But for all we know, this may be the only time we can be alone together. Savor every moment while they still last."
"Savor," Vicky repeated. She kept whispering it to herself for a second, and she looked down and saw that Barnabas had unhooked her bra. Vicky willingly took it off and tossed it aside. Barnabas looked into her eyes and darted down from the neck to her small waist. He gently massaged her chest, and Vicky started giggling softly as he was teasing her. Her bosoms were small enough to fit right in the vampire's large hands, smaller than Josette's, perhaps? He wouldn't know for sure because he hasn't seen his past lover disrobed. Barnabas lightly stroked his finger across the tips, hard from the massage, and probably thought of ways to excite his lover. With a feeling of arousal burning in her chest, Vicky pushed Barnabas down on the bed and crawled towards him, her eyes glowing with even more desire and desperation than she had ever had before.
At that moment, Vicky eyed the mysterious man lying down before her from head to toe. Out of curiosity, she unbuttoned his pants and pulled them right off.
"Oh dear," Vicky whispered. Her eyes beamed with fascination as she took his undergarments off; her eyes widened even more. Barnabas looked at Victoria with great anticipation; his entire body, exposed right before her very eyes. Vicky touched him, surprised by how excited he was, and Barnabas quietly grunted by the sensation.
Vicky then said to him, "You know I want you, but... Do you want me?"
"Just as much as you do, Victoria." Barnabas replied.
"But how do I..." Before Vicky could finish, he quickly shoved her, throwing her off balance as she fell back onto the pillows.
"Lay back," he said to the girl. "I'll show you."
He grabbed Vicky's panties and pulled them right off; and now, the two of them are both uncovered, and Barnabas gazed at his lover's naked body. He laid down on top of her, lovingly touching her all over. The scent of her perfume was so pleasant and sweet, and feeling her soft skin had aroused him deeply. He then tilted her head back farther and he kissed and licked the side of her neck as well as her chest. Vicky's breathing became heavier, and her face grew red hot. She tilted her head back down to look at him. She touched his face and stroked his hair. She saw the vampire's strong body right in front of her and just staring into his brown eyes was enough to make her weak.
Then, their lips had joined together once again, almost to the point where they seemed to swallow each other whole. Barnabas fondled Victoria's fertile hips, feeling every inch of her, and started thrusting like a swordsman attacking his opponent. Vicky was quite shocked by this at first, but then she started to move as well, slowly sliding their bodies against each other. He thrusts, she parries; she thrusts, and he parries as well. The sensation of each other excited the both of them, and their breathing became much heavier. Barnabas grabbed a hold of her shoulders, being careful not to scratch her, and the pace became faster than before. This felt good, quite thrilling. Vicky was very much pleased with herself and her lover; she quietly moaned and she wrapped herself around the vampire's body. His heat had melted with hers, and when Vicky finally came, now was the perfect chance. Barnabas stopped for just a second and dug right into her. Victoria felt a sharp pain so strong, she let out a loud scream. Tears fell from her eyes as she felt Barnabas digging even deeper inside of her and sliding at a very fast pace. She was very overwhelmed by this feeling, yet slowly started to feel more pleasured at the same time.
"Go on, Vicky," said Barnabas as he panted loudly. "Don't be afraid to cry. Do you want me to stop?"
"NO!" Vicky shouted. "DON'T STOP!" She started panting even louder than before. What was once a sharp and unpleasant pain became just mere pressure. Still overwhelmed by the situation, Vicky started groaning and shouting. She could say next to nothing except his name.
"Barnabas... Oh BARNABAS!"
Barnabas then responded, but like her, he could say nothing but her name.
"Oh... Oh Victoria!"
The two of them were moving so vigorously that the bed was banging against the wall in perfect sync with their movements. But they were not paying any attention to that. Any noise around them seemed like just a quiet hum. They did not even care if someone sees them; they only had each other - sharing their heart, their soul, and now, their bodies throughout almost the entire evening. This seemed like the perfect dream, a dream come true in a way.
Soon, their movements had started to slow down. The moaning and shouting had become nothing but silence. The two of them could hear nothing but the sound of themselves breathing. The two of them separated and laid down. Vicky, still breathing heavily, looked at Barnabas, and he looked back at her. She leaned in toward him, and softly whispered into his ear, "I love you Barnabas. I really do!" Barnabas turned toward Vicky and kissed her lips one last time.
"And I love you too," Barnabas said in a quiet, low tone. "My darling, Victoria."
What a surprise! He has never called her "darling" before. This was the first time she has ever heard him use such a name. But just hearing him utter that word to her seemed to make her heart beat faster. Although she could feel excitement, she was much too exhausted to make a single movement. She scooted in closer and laid down on his chest. To her surprise, though... no heartbeat. Nothing. Just pure silence in his chest. She seemed a little creeped out by this and she decided to lay her head on his shoulder instead. Barnabas thought nothing of it. All that mattered was that he was with the one girl that he loved. The one girl who will finally be his bride.
He looked into her eyes, now partially closed as she was starting to fall asleep. He gazed at her her body close to his, but noticed something strange. He saw what appeared to be a small blood stain on the bed sheets right in front of Vicky. He did not remember biting her at all that night. His fangs had never even touched the girl. He then assumed that Vicky had remained pure since childhood. Her heart and soul that was once kept only to herself was now given to him at this very night. Knowing this, he knew he would have no other choice but to make Victoria his and only his. But if he should fail... how devastating that would be!
Nevertheless, he still had time on his side. She had finally come to him, and that was all that mattered to him at this very night. Vicky had already gone to sleep, softly breathing as she had drifted into slumber; dreaming, perhaps? By then, the clock had struck three. Only a few more hours until dawn! He knew he had to put his clothes back on and wait until sunrise to go back into his sleeping state. Before doing that, he gently placed Victoria on the pillow and covered her up with the soft blankets on the bed. She seemed to have smiled when he did that, though she might not have been aware of what is happening outside her dream state. Barnabas leaned closer to her, and whispered into her ear, "You're mine."
