Knight of Darkness
Chapter One
She felt like she was floating; An endless sea of nothingness enveloping her. She found herself wandering around a desolate courtyard. It was dark outside, cold, and harsh. Her bare feet effortlessly gliding across the stone ground, as if in a dream of some sort. Yet this felt so real.
She ran her hands along the ivy covered stone walls of what looked like some kind of fortress, a castle. Humming softly to herself she skips to a wooden door at the far end of the courtyard. She felt a sudden surge of life, of innocence as she pranced about, not a care in the world.
The door opened gracefully, not even a prolonged squeak escaped from the rusted hinges. On second thought, she couldn't hear anything. She panics a bit, snapping her fingers to her ears. Nothing. She shrugs her shoulders and continues on frolicking, this time down a dim corridor.
Brass candelabras hang from the stone walls, bringing a romantic, yet frightful light to the narrow walkways. The marble under her feet is extremely smooth. Something she wasn't expecting from such an old and decrepit castle.
She continues to make her way down the hallway. It never seems to end. she thinks to herself as she begins to pick up her pace.
She was looking for something. Or someone, rather. Yet she didn't know who exactly. The hallway soon opens up into a great recreational room of sorts. A monstrous fire roared in the intricately carved marble of the hearth.
Looking around the room she began to notice that the windows were all draped in heavy red velvet. Gold tassels tying them in place. Unwilling to let any light stream through the large windows. Beautiful antique furniture was scattered here and there in front of the fire. This place almost felt like home. Except for the fact that she had never been there before this night.
She takes a seat on one of the dark velvet sofas, allowing her nimble body to be sucked into the plush cushions. She breathes deeply, closing her eyes. She felt so calm. So...
Her eyes snap open when she feels a presence behind her. She sits bolt upright, unwilling to make any sudden movements. A breath on her neck startles her, yet she doesn't dare move an inch. A set of lips, caress her pale flesh, placing a tender kiss under her ear.
She begins to relax again. The lips feel familiar, the kiss welcoming. She smiles softly to herself.
A hand reaches from behind her, waiting for her to take hold. Her small hand fit into his. She was startled at how cool his hands were against hers. This stranger, whoever he was, didn't feel like a stranger to her at all.
She longed to see who this mystery man was. Yet as hard as she tried, he never turned around to reveal himself to her. He leads her down another dark hallway, this one, almost completely void of any light. She tries hard not to stumble and is puzzled by the fact that her masked man has no trouble leading her to their destination.
She couldn't help but feel thrilled. Thrilled that she had no idea who this man was. This man was dark, mysterious, yet she felt that there was more to him. He was dangerous. And that made her want him all the more. "Where are we going?" she tries to say, yet no words come out of her mouth, yet somehow he knows she has spoken to him for he turns his head to the left a bit and quiets her by lifting his index to his lips. She can tell he is smiling, maybe even having a little laugh at her expense. He gives her hand a tight squeeze and continues.
He leads her into a smaller room, but it wasn't small by any means. He sits her down on a small stool, in front of a delicate fireplace. It was a bedroom. Dark oak wood furniture was strewn around. A beautiful canopied bed, the center of attention. She was so overwhelmed by the beauty of such a room that she had no idea he was trying to get her attention. He turns her head gently towards him, a smile playing across his face. He looks flustered, nervous maybe. He hasn't let go of her hands since they met.
She looks at him quizzically waiting for him to speak. Her hearing hasn't come back when he does start talking. She can make out some of his words by reading his lips.
"Long time... so happy... yet afraid she can't trust him..?"
She didn't quite understand what he had been waiting for or why he was so happy, yet she knew she couldn't trust him. At least not completely. He was dangerous, that she knew. Yet she didn't know why.
He averts her attention back to her with a small laugh and a shake of his head, his hair a mass of dark silk atop his head. He continued kneeling in front of her, which couldn't have been too comfortable for him, for it seemed like they'd been talking forever. Yet it probably didn't help that she kept getting distracted.
She began to concentrate on what he was saying.
"I ... love you Elena." he says, giving her hand another gentle caress. She felt so overwhelmed. She had no clue who this mystery man was, yet he knew her name.
The funny thing was, she felt like she had known him for forever. Like she was meant to be here.
"I love you, Ana. So much." he mouths again. She's filled with such joy, such happiness, as if she had been waiting to hear those words all her life.
He reaches behind him, digging something out of his back pocket. He held up a ring. A beautiful round, diamond in the middle, surrounded by 12 small blood red rubies. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
He took her hand, slipping the ring onto her finger. He let his lips slowly caress her finger, giving it a kiss or two. The ring was amazing, it fit like a glove, as if it were made for her. She stared at it as in glinted like wildfire in the dim light from the hearth. She became transfixed by it, as if it held some sort of mystical powers.
She looked at him, happiness flooding her face, making her cheeks flush with a rose tint. He got up and sat next to her on the furnished stool, entangling her with his strong arms. His skin was cool under his shirt, which she couldn't help but think was odd for it was at least 70 degrees in the room. She chalked it up to the winter weather.
They sat there for a while, enjoying each other's company. She is completely content at this moment. He begins to speak again. No matter how hard she tries she can't make out what his lips are saying. She finally gets a good look at his coal black eyes. They glint with lust, longing. He says something and looks at her, waiting for her to reply.
No matter how hard she thought, she could not understand what he had said for the life of her. But she knew it was a question. She did anything a doting girl would do. She giggled and smiled at him, as an acceptance to his question. Whatever it was.
She had a feeling she was about to find out.
He moves her long auburn hair away from her neck slowly, nose nuzzling her neck. His hot breath came on strong and sent shivers up her spine, greatly anticipating what was about to happen.
His breathing became more rampant, his grip on her stronger. In the pit of her stomach she knew something horribly wrong was going to happen, yet she wanted so much to find out what exactly that was.
He pulled away, facing her one last time. Long enough to see his long white canines, glistening in the firelight. Her eyes widened. She tried to get away, yet his hold on her was to strong.
Her hearing came back just in time to hear her piercing screams as her skin was ripped apart.
Elena woke up in a cold sweat, her heart beating hard enough to make her think it would jump out of her chest at any second. It was just a dream, she thought as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She turns on her lamp that sits next to her bed, illuminating the room with a soft pink glow. She looks around the room, half expecting to see her dream captor, but she was alone.
Everything in the house was quiet. Almost too quiet for her liking. Still unable to shake his strange image from her mind, she rolls out of bed and heads toward the bathroom.
The full moon hung in the sky cast strange shadows through the hallway, lighting it in shades of grey. She stumbles into the bathroom, heading straight for the sink.
A few minutes were spent applying cool water onto her face, allowing herself to calm down a bit. She turns the faucet off with a grunt, for the coolness of the water reminded her of him. His pale, cool skin under his tight dark shirt.
She looks into the mirror, taking a look at herself. Her green eyes were puffy and cast large shadows to her skin underneath. It looked as if she had been through war. She felt quite the same. This was the fifth night this week that she's awoken with this dream. Each one a little different, but the outcome was always the same.
After patting her face dry with a used towel she throws it back on the floor from whence it came. She tiptoes back to her room, careful not to wake up anyone else in the house. She gets back into bed, determined to get a decent night's sleep. Covering herself in the heavy down blanket, she lays there for a bit just thinking about the strange man, and why he had visited in her dreams every night this week. Her eyes droop, heavy with sleep as she reaches to turn the lamp off.
The switch turns with ease. She lets her arm fall carelessly down, almost too tired to keep it up any longer. Her hand hits the maple table next to her hard. With the moaning due to her now throbbing hand she almost misses the sounds of metallic hitting the dark wood floors with a small "clink."
Her eyes shoot open at the sounds, determined to get a look at an imaginary stranger, which was silly for she couldn't see anything in the darkness. Unlike her mystery man who seemed to have no trouble with it at all. She shivers and turns on her light again.
Looking on the floor she sees nothing. Not a magazine, an article of clothing, nothing. She kept her room immaculate. I'm sure I heard something, she thinks as she continues her search. "Oh this is crazy!" she huffs. She shuffles back to her bed giving her room one more look, and rolls her eyes at how paranoid she is being.
"Ow!" she shrieks as she reaches the mattress. She stepped on something sharp, just on the outskirts of her bed. She lifts her foot up cautiously, knowing she hadn't seen anything there when she looked. The cause of the metallic clatter is in plain sight.
A ring.
She just stares at it, her heart beginning to beat sporadically. She could see the red stones glint in the lamplight.