Hello and welcome to the first chapter of Nightmares and Fairytales. This is my first try at a fic like this so feedback would be great. I also would like to apologize in a advance for any spelling for grammar mistakes. I try by best to eliminate them but I know i have a problem. Thank you and hope you enjoy it!
PS. If making the dialogue in bold is annoying in any way, please tell me, it helps me keep things in order, but i can remove it before i post.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Emberlyn and her family.
Nightmares and Fairytales
Chapter one
With a satisfying click Emberlyn Sage locked up the kitchen of her employers large Penthouse. It was an eerie place with all the lights off, but probably safer then most of Gotham at this time of night. The little woman had lived in the most dangerous place in the Americas all of her life. Raised in the Gotham City school system and had come out a fine, upstanding citizen, cooking and cleaning for the cities best.
Her family was in tacked for the most part, only loosing a cat to a speeding car. She was one of those people who faded into the background, the kind of person you see in movies hailing a cab or eating a bagel, important only for scenery and to set the mood of a normal was little in every way; her hair was long and coppery gold and often pulled tight and stuffed into a hairnet or a taut bun. Her large green eyes dominated her face and had once been filled with a doughy, innocent look but her high school boyfriend had taken that away. Short, only 5' 3", with a little waist and small breasts. Her best feature was her skin, it was lightly tanned and obscured by blemishes or marks for the most part. Her hands where slightly scarred from her years at culinary school and cooking over hot stoves.
She hurried through the dark room, the chill of the wintry city making her yearn for the heat of her car. She rushed, pulling bobby pins out of her hair, letting her waist length hair fall in a knotted mess. She would deal with that when she got home. Pulling on her cheep thrift store coat, a beep violet it was almost black, she fished for her keys.
Taking the keys and her cell out she flipped it open as soon as she saw the little 'massage' light flashing. It was from her mother, telling her not to forget that they had a lunch date the next day to celebrate Emberlyn's 28th birthday. Originally it had been a dinner date, but with the recent Joker killings, they had moved it up a few hours. Her mother was a skittish woman, even though the possibility of her meeting the Joker was one in a million, being a random no one. A tired woman living off two jobs to pay the rent of her 3 room apartment in the middle-danger part of town was not the kind of target that would leave a city in ashes.
Apart from being one of the best maids in Gotham she also sang and bar-tended for a small club called 'The Caravan'. It was a popular joint with a Middle Eastern feel to it, mostly so the women working there could walk around in slutty Arabian dancer uniforms. Not that she minded, it made her feel pretty, which was a very rare feeling for her.
She quickly dialed the number of her old home and unlocked the door of her car as she waited for someone to answer. Throwing her bag into the back seat she slipped in and shut the door. Her buckle clicked as her mothers voice filtered through the ear piece.
"Hello?" her voice was old and warm, and Ember let the wave of familiarity and peace wash over her as she started the car.
"Mom, Hey, its Ember." She sighed, backing out onto the quiet but busy street. "You called?" waited as her mother called to her father, telling him it was his eldest daughter. Her smile grew wider and warmer as his strong and deep voice called back, telling her to say Hi. Making a turn off the main street onto a dark and deserted back way, she waited for her mother to answer.
"Yes, I called. I wanted to know-" Ember didn't get to hear what her mother wanted because the phone slipped from her hand as something cold and sharp was pressed to the skin of her neck.
"Hasn't anyone told you its dan-ger-ous to talk on, ah- the phone and drive?" the voice wasn't deep but was obviously masculine, dominant and dangerous. He was pressed against the back of her seat, his mouth a few inches from her ear. She could hear him breath, a slow ragged sort of breath as the air was over the yellowing teeth and ruffling her hair, blowing the sweet smell into her face. He smelled like gas, gun smoke, grease paint, and something else; something more natural and personal. She slammed her foot on the break, gritting her teeth as she was flung forward and the biting edge of the blade dug into the soft, vulnerable flesh of her neck, drawing blood. She suddenly realized the blade was dull from use, sending a shiver of pure terror though her body. The man in the back seat chucked, finding the whole situation very humorous. "Now look wha-ut you made me do, darling"
Suddenly the pressure was taken away from her neck and she thought for a moment about running. That was until the click of a gun's safety being turned off came from the back seat. She could hear her mother's voice from the still open phone calling frantically for her.
"Move over, Doll, I want to drive." She could hear the grin in his words as she did what she was told. Slipping into the passenger seat she thought about her mace in her purse, sitting in the back seat. He climbed over the seat, the gun stayed pointed at her the whole time. In the same movement he picked up the cell that was sitting in-between the seat.
His face was light up by the dash and Ember finally got a full view of her captor and wished she hadn't. His mane of greasy blond and green hair framed a face painted white with the kind of make-up they had used in her high school plays. His scarred lips where pulled up in a menacing scarlet grin but nothing grabbed her attention more then his eyes, surrounded by deep black paint and fixed intently on her as he breathed into the phone.
"Hel-lo. Change of plans, little Em-ber will be spending some time with ah- me." his mouth curled up into a grin to match the one glistening on his face like fresh blood. She could hear her mother's cries as he snapped the phone shut. "Now, lets take a little tri-puh"
He's grin widened as he reached over and grabbed the back of her head with one of his gloved hands, the other had the dull knife poised and ready. The pressure in her hair was painful and caused her eyes to tear and a small whimper to escape her lips. This seemed to make him happy and he pulled harder, causing her to arch her back to prevent any hair loss. She began to flail, kicking out in an attempt to get away. Her foot connected with something hard and he let out a grunt. Ember's victory was short lived though because he let out a deep, angry sound like the growl of a rabid animal, pressing the dull blade to her throat again, moving so he straddle her legs, and making it impossible to move.
His eyes held none of the humor they had a second ago, just a deep burning anger that froze Ember from the inside. He slapped her across the face, hard and swift. She could feel the sting but didn't dare cry out. He back handed her, harder this time, his knuckles making contact and leaving a white hot mark across her face. Grabbing her by the collar of her work shirt, he pulled her close to his face. His eyes burned into hers, hatred and anger dominating his face.
"Not very smar-tuh" he hissed and smashed the back of her head into the passenger world exploded into a mass of stars and lights as her head made contact with the glass. It burned as the world became edged in darkness. She blinked, confused and sluggish. He lifted her again, a grin, insane and angry, spread across his face as he forced her back again, slamming her against the glass. She didn't feel this one as the darkness that had been dancing on the edge came to greet her. The last thing she knew before slipping away was a high-pitched laugh, insane and bone chilling, the laugh of a Hyena, the laugh of Gotham's blackest scum…The Joker
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A blinding light woke Emberlyn Sage, causing her to flinch. Her head was on fire as she turned away from the light, keeping her eyes closed. She couldn't remember drinking last night which could mean some very bad things. She rolled over in the bed, reaching for the clock in her bed-side table. Her hand was greeted by empty air. She opened her eyes, expecting to see her small, cluttered room. She sat up, eyes wide as she looked around. She wasn't in her cozy little apartment; instead she lay on the rug of a small dark room. A small window was the only source of light. She tried to stand, but was overcome with the pain in her head and a sudden need to vomit. She crawled to the corner, rapping her arms around her legs and pressing her head in her knees, concentrating on nothing until the pain finally dulled into the background.
She sat frozen in her corner as the events from last night came flooding back. The feel of the blade, the look of anger and madness in his eyes, and the high-pitched laugh burned in her mind as she sat there, her eyes closed and her forehead pressed into her knees.
She didn't know how long she sat there but she had become stiff by the time the door across the room opened and a man stepped inside. He closed the door slowly, his figure was slumped slightly, his head cocked to the side. She could feel those eyes watching her, this time with amusement.
"Gooood morning, sleeping beauty." The Joker chucked, his funny way of speaking annoyed her, much like the strange voice of his. It was an accent of no origin, much like him. The click of his shoes came closer. She could hear his clothes creak slightly as he bent down. A gloved hand wretched her off her feet, her hands when out to steady herself on the wall but where only met by his other hand. The fake leather felt strange in her hand, his hands warm, strong, but strange. She flinched away, stepping back. The small movement caused the amusement to turn to irritation and impatiens as he grabbed her wrists and pulled her out of the room. "No time to ah- wais-tuh"
The growl in his voice forced her on. As she hurried behind him though the halls of what looked like a very large house, she began to get her bearings. His hand on her wrist was hard and painful and finely he paused in front of a room. He pulled out a ring of keys and unlocking the door, shaking them at her and letting them fall into the pocket of his huge purple overcoat.
It was a huge, fully furnished kitchen. The stainless steel glistened from the light coming through two huge windows over looking a wild and untamed yard. She must have been right about being in one of the few old manors that populated the extremes of Gotham's city limits. Free of the Jokers crushing hold on her wrist she stepped into the room, pressing herself against the door frame to get as far from his as she could. He didn't seem to notice.
"You work for me now, understand?" he turned her around, his blade poised in his hand again, the edge dull and warn. "If I'm ganna run this city, I need the bes-tuh, and that's you Doll."
"You…want me to cook for you?" Emberlyn finally found her voice. The scars on his face where pulled by the grin.
"So you have a voice?" he sound pleased. "And what a prett-ahy voice it is." She chucked and pulled the blade forward. "And yes, among other...things." She didnt like the way that sounded, nor the look on his face.
"If you try anything - ah funny, I'm sure you will miss that, tha-tuh voice very much…Get the point?" he let out another insane laugh and slammed the door shut.
It took a few moments for her legs to become mobile again but she was eventually able to push herself forward. Judging by the clock on the wall, it was about 10 so lunch was the next meal on the list. She was surprised to find the kitchen stocked with an array of normal foods. She had though the diet of a Psychopathic killer would be…more irregular. She had had momentary visions of her having to chop up the Jokers latest victim and serve them over rice. But instead she pulled out a chicken breast and some veggies and settled with a simple stew, not sure exactly what he liked. Everyone likes soup.
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