Noelle's small heels clacked against the cold ground as she walked the streets away from the small club that she sang at. Her coat reached just below her knees leaving her calves and ankles free for the cool air to attack. She folded her arms over her chest and carried on with her march home. She loved singing at the bar but hated walking home once the doors were closed. It was close to 2AM and the dim streetlamps did little to light her way home. The cool air also left her feeling uneasy as goosebumps rose on her skin; she supposed that she may have read one too many horror books which caused her imagination to run a little wild.
A small chuckle behind her made her freeze in place. She felt the familiar sensation of two eyes burning into her and quickly turned around. There was nothing.
Noelle had felt someone staring at her all night and it had been close to the end of her gig when she had spotted a man sat at the back. His hair was combed impeccably and he wore an expensive looking suit. His dark eyes had gazed at her so intently that she had had to look away for a few moments before glancing back at him. His lips had curled into a smirk at that. He looked to be only a few years older than her although the way he held his posture straight made her think he could have been older.
Noelle's green eyes glanced around a little more before she took a step back. A gasp left her painted red lips as her back touched something behind her and she heard the rustle of fabric. She felt the gentle touch of a hand on her shoulder and a mouth lowered itself to hover just above the shell of her ear.
"Good evening." The man had a strong accent that told her he was of a higher class than she. Noelle carefully turned around and stepped out of reach as the same dark eyes from earlier looked back at her. His eyebrow arched at her effort to put distance between them and another teasing smirk graced his face.
"Y-you were at the club…"
"You have a lovely voice. I think I will hear it a lot more in the future. You shouldn't be wasted in such a dive, Ellie." The girl visibly flinched as the name that her parents used to call her rang throughout her mind. Why did he call her that? She hated being called that. "Noelle Cutler, correct?"
"How do you know that?" Her boss at the club only ever announced her as Miss Noelle. How could he possibly know her surname?
"Your brother told me."
"You know Nick?" Perhaps they worked toget- why was he moving closer to her? Noelle immediately stepped back again as he let out a mirthless laugh. His eyes turned cold and his smirk faded.
"You're going to be fun." One of his hands quickly covered her mouth and another wrapped around her throat. A muffled shout left her lips as he pushed her back into the alley that she had briskly moved past only minutes before. She could barely see his face as the glow of the streetlights disappeared. "Sssh... Why do they always scream? It never changes the outcome." He leant closer to her and she noticed that his eyes rolled backwards as though he was annoyed as she attempted to pull his hands from her. "This might hurt a pinch."
Noelle couldn't help but let out another muffled scream as his eyes shut and re-opened to show two pitch black holes. She pushed fruitlessly against his chest as two fangs extended from his mouth. The blonde had no hope as his hand pulled on her curls to move her head to the side and his fangs pierced her soft skin. She quickly felt her strength leaving her as he gulped down her blood; her fingers clenched onto the lapel of his coat in an attempt to stay standing. Animalistic growls left his throat as he felt her slowly slump against his chest; her small body was easily held in his arms as he pulled back with a crimson smile.
The slight girl dropped to the floor as the monster took out a silk cloth from his coat pocket and wiped the blood from his chin.
A man came from around the corner and threw the girl over his shoulder; the two villains shared a nod and left as quickly as they had appeared.
The only sign of what had just transpired was a crumpled black piece of fabric on the floor soaked in Noelle Cutler's blood.
"Rachel!" Noelle scrambled to her feet and dived to the bedframe that her sister-in-law was strapped onto. The chain around her neck stopped her from getting any closer than being able to grasp onto Rachel's shoulder.
"Elle!" Rachel screamed in reply and struggled against her bindings. They didn't budge, of course. She awkwardly turned her neck to look upwards at the younger girl and a second scream left her lips as she saw the puncture wounds that leaked blood down Noelle's collarbone and onto the top of her dress. Her cream coat had been discarded so that the whole gruesome display could be seen properly. "W-what happened?!"
"They're monsters, Rach. Monsters like in the books I enjoy reading!" Noelle cried along with her close friend; her fingers trembled and stroked the top of Rachel's head in an act of comfort.
"They did that to you?"
"HE did."
"Who is he?"
"The young looking one with dark hair that woke us up that night. I didn't remember his face until now; he had been watching me at the club!"
"The men in the garage with Nick?" Rachel had been awfully confused when she had woken up to find her husband and a few strangers talking at such an early hour, usually it was Noelle that woke her after her songs were over for the night and she made her usual coffee before bed. She remembered the fellow that had greeted her and made excuses for their interruption… he had seemed so charming…
"Y-yes..." Noelle kept her hand touching Rachel's hair and gingerly lifted her right to touch her neck. Fresh blood coated her fingertips as the small holes carried on to drip with blood like a leaky tap.
"Are you alright?" Rachel asked as she noted that she had been unharmed and only tied down unlike her sister-in-law who had blood crusted on her neck and a chain that seemed fit for a dog shackling her to the wall.
"I-I'm just a little dizzy, but I don't think the wounds are deep enough to do anything more than make me a little woozy."
"What caused them?"
"His teeth. He had fucking fangs, Rach!" Noelle didn't bother to curb her language as panic raced through her body; how the hell were they going to get out of here? The chain was heavily bolted to the wall and was made out of strong metal. Rachel's bindings were a thick type of rope like something hikers would use so there was little chance of her wriggling out of them.
"L-like a vampire?" Rachel was used to Nick's younger sister letting her imagination run away with her after all of the countless horror novels that she read on a weekly basis, but considering the current situation, she would believe everything the girl said.
The twenty-one year old enjoyed spinning long tales that would entertain those that would listen, but tonight was certainly not a situation in which Noelle would lie. If there was nothing that Noelle cared about more, it was protecting what little family she had left. Her and Nick had been extremely close after their parents had died in the war, and Rachel had felt a little like an outsider when she had first been introduced to Noelle Cutler. However, after seeing the true love that both Nick and Rachel shared, it didn't take long for Elle to let Rach into her little bubble that she kept her brother in.
"I-I'm scared." Her childlike voice broke through Rachel's inner-thoughts and she glanced up to see the girl staring at the blood that stained her fingers. Rachel did what she could to give Noelle comfort and gently rested her chin upon the hand that gripped her shoulder.
"I know you are, but Nick wouldn't let anything bad happen to us." ...would he? Rachel hated to admit that her husband had been acting strange as of late. He would come home early in the morning and would stay out for most of the hours of the day. Now, considering Noelle worked late hours at the bar that she sang at, Elle didn't notice how often Nick would not come home until the sun began to rise and merely thought of him as being at work during the day. Of course, Rachel had been fine to allow her to think that considering how anxious Elle would get should she know that Nick was not in fact working as often as she believed. However, a little alarm began to chime in the back of Rachel's mind as she wondered if he had gotten into trouble, perhaps through gambling and betting, and that the pair of them had been taken until Nick paid up. This thought process was shattered as the door opposite them swung open.
There he was. The great Lord Henry Yorke sauntered through the doorway with his two finest henchmen behind him.
Noelle unintentionally raised her shoulders as far the collar would allow in an attempt to try and hide her neck from his gaze. Her fingers left half-moon shapes in Rachel's shoulder, but with the fear that both ladies felt, neither could even begin to care. Rach couldn't help but sink further into the material behind her as Lord Harry's emotionless gaze swept over her form; his shark-like grin emerged as he could literally smell the fear of his prey.
"I'm sorry to have kept you ladies waiting. It is most unforgivable." He gave a mock bow before straightening his form. Despite Noelle wanting nothing more than to run back into the wall behind her, she stayed in her place next to her sister-in-law. Her body shook but she knew that she could not leave Rachel whilst she was in such a vulnerable position.
"W-what do you want? Where is Nick?" Rachel stuttered.
"Nick is busy. However, he will be here soon enough." Harry replied curtly as he turned his attention on to the small figure that was kneeling next to the bed. The blood had stopped dripping from her wound but the red stain that covered the majority of her right shoulder and the top of her green dress made him inhale deeply. Oh, she had tasted so sweet. Usually he would have killed her within minutes, but he decided that it was about time he had a new toy. Little Ellie just happened to be that new toy. Perhaps it would also keep Cutler in check as well.
"G-get away from her..." Rachel whimpered as she noted how Noelle sobbed a little when the man knelt down next to her. Harry gently placed a few ringlets over her shoulder and his gaze burned into the right side of her face.
"Hello again, Noelle." She did not reply. "It is rude to ignore someone when they are talking to you." This time she couldn't help herself and quickly dived back against the wall when his hand came to touch her cheek. Lord Harry rose from the floor and smirked before motioning with his hand at the two men that were with him. Noelle had no choice other than stay where she was as Harry turned his back to her to watch the show. Rachel's scream echoed through the room as one of the men held her head back against the bedframe. The other man raised his hand and wrapped his fingers around Rachel's throat.
"No!" Noelle attempted to push against Harry's back to get to her sister-in-law, but was halted as he turned back around and pressed her back into the hard wall.
"Now, Ellie... that isn't how we play, is it? You need to behave." Harry took great joy in pinning her back to his front and keeping a cold grip on her chin so that she had no choice other than to watch as Rachel's throat was ripped out. The blood sprayed everywhere, a small spatter further decorated the front of Noelle's dress, and she clenched her eyes shut as the men began to thread a tube into Rachel's throat. A few last gargles echoed around the room before the woman's twitching body stilled; the only sounds were Noelle's panicked breaths and the steady drip of Rachel's blood feeding into a glass jug that was used for wine storing. With a small nod Harry gave the men the freedom to leave and loosened his grip on Noelle's chin. He kept an arm around her waist and mockingly tsked whilst wiping away the tears that flowed down her cheeks. "Ellie, stop with your crying." When she couldn't do as he said and was merely able to gulp for air and choke on her own sobs Hal pulled her head up to look at him with a strong tug of her hair. "You will do as I say or I shall make you lick up the blood that has spilt onto the floor."
"N-no…" Noelle knew that he meant every word and so forced herself to take deep breaths until she could look at him without breaking down into uncontrollable cries. Her body shook against his as he carefully wiped away the fresh lot of tears. If she hadn't known any better, then she would have mistaken him for a human at that very moment. It seemed like a crack in his mask had appeared, but as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. His emotionless eyes seemed to look straight into her soul and she tried her very best not to shy away from his challenge.
"Good girl, Ellie." He patted her head like an owner would do to a dog when it had been good.
"D-don't call me that." She couldn't help but choke out. She could stand being called Elle, but Ellie made her sound like a little girl in a frilly dress with pigtails. She hated that.
"Oh, but I like the name Ellie. It's cute." Harry knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted that fire to burn deeply within because once it rose high enough, he would have the pleasure of putting out all over again.
"Lord Harry?" A voice called from the other side of the door. "He's here."
"Nick?" Noelle breathed as Harry gave her a knowing smile.
"Be right there." He let her drop to the floor in a heap and stared down at her pointedly. "Don't do anything stupid. I like my toys to be in one piece." Harry turned and flicked the light switch as he left the room swiftly. Noelle kept her gaze on her feet in an effort to not look at her sister-in-law. The copper tang hit the back of her throat as the mask of Harry's aftershave faded away with him. Her ears seemed to zone in on the sound of the blood that steadily filled the jug no matter how hard Noelle tried to think of a song to hum. A deep exhale left her lips before she looked up to see the murder scene.
"Dear God…" She whimpered and raised a hand to her mouth to stifle any further noises from escaping. Poor Rachel; it was a horrid thing to look at. That ugly tube that disappeared into her throat ensured that every little drop of blood was drained from her body. What would they do with her? She didn't deserve to be just left in a ditch to rot. Noelle's eyes flickered over to the doorway as she heard footsteps coming closer. "Nick?" Her voice was hoarse from all of the crying and it hurt to swallow. Oh, how she wished that she could call out to her brother and warn him not to enter… but she supposed that those disgusting brutes would just carry him in here anyway.
And the moon gives me
Permission and I enter
Through her eyes
She's losing her virginity
And all her will to compromise
I didn't want to hurt you baby
I didn't want to hurt you
I didn't want to hurt you
But you're pretty when you cry
-Pretty When You Cry by VAST-
AN: Hello!
I'm not really sure how far this will go. I do have plans to extend this in my own time and I shall write it privately, but I thought I'd share it and see if anyone else wants to read it! The story is not going to be filled with happiness and rainbows as you'd expect with Lord Harry being around, but Noelle will grow as a character! I will also cover some mature scenes but I will leave warnings when they arrive - I have uploaded this on AO3 as well and that upload will probably have the more detailed sexual scenes within it rather than this one.
Anyways, this is just a taster as I adored the show and how they did parallels between the Rachel/Cutler and Alex/Hal scenes.
Leave a review if you are interested in reading more! ^.^
Have a lovely day,
Mikki xx
