Freedom

Amnesia: Justine Fanfiction

Alois Racine. Once, a devilishly handsome racquetball player, loyal to his family above all else. When questioned about his relationship with his fiancée, Justine, he would shrug and simply state, "I'm a lover, not a fighter." A lean but strong man at the age of 21, with curly blond hair and striking blue eyes, Alois was the envy of his friends and the pride of his family. Some say he was a little too beyond loyal when it came to Justine, but the relationship went on without a hitch for quite some time. Much to his family's dismay, Alois finally left his home to live with his wealthy counterpart in her mansion. Then the trap was sprung.

It started when Justine had turned his back on him. For those other suitors. One, Basile, was abusive and cruel, and used brute strength and charm to make up for what he lacked in honor. The second was Malo, a truly insane violinist, who looked upon Justine with eyes of lust and hunger, not of love. Alois could simply not let her fall to them; he attempted to save her many times. But as his attempts escalated from following to begging, and finally self-inflicted cutting to gain her attention, he began to grow hopeless.

Justine did not care for him. She didn't care for any of them. All their fates were the same, right from the beginning. They were nothing more than lab rats, trapped in her cage of lies and false promises of a future together with her chosen husband. And in the end, they all felt the cold embrace of her final trap.

Although she didn't look like it, Justine loved experimenting with human emotions, and how they could be affected by certain things. With the help of a close friend, a baron known as Alexander, she learned how to make certain supernatural potions and elixirs. One, her particular favorite, was a potion that granted longlivety and incredible strength, but at the cost of sanity and irreparable disfiguration. Also, for it to work the consumer would need to release large amounts of vitae. The only way to achieve this was through torture.

Conveniently, she had her suitors. The first to take the drink was Alois, who was given it down in the prison cells. He was the easiest to bend to the pain she inflicted, and when he swallowed the elixir, the injuries he sustained started to open and bleed fresh, never sealing, even after weeks. Justine was delighted with the results, and tried it on the next suitor, Basile. He, to, suffered the same fate.

However, Justine soon began to grow bored with the same results each time; and she very nearly met her downfall because of what she did to Malo. Malo was given a much larger dose than the last two suitors, and the effects showed. He became stronger than the last two, strong enough to break down metal. And his mentality was much more affected. The moment he swallowed the foul drink, a cruel smile spread across his lips, and his voice became predatory and harsh. "Justine…let me taste you…"

When she saw what she had done, Justine quickly raced down to the waterlogged cellar that she was hoping to get repaired. Malo ran after her, knocking down doors and frightened servants in his way. Had she not quickly hid above water level, Malo would have caught her in a heartbeat. But hours of sneaking past, bit by bit, silently back to the entrance, was what just barely saved her in the end.

She pulled a lever by the door to the basement once she was back in her estate. Two large, metal blocks slowly pushed together, crushing a servant caught in her rope trap in the process, but also blocking the way to the door. There was no way for anyone to get out when it was blocked like that. Justine smiled-at the adrenaline she had felt during the chase, at the very, very slight twinge of emotion she felt at having the power over life and death. If only there was a way to experience it all again…

And there was. Drinking the amnesia potion given to her by Alexander, Justine went through her entire Cabinet of Perturbation, led on by recordings she left for herself. Afterwards, she swore she would never do so again. Bringing up the phonograph recording Basile's downfall to her room to make sure it would never be found, she closed herself off from the cabinet…forever.

Tears would have welled in Alois' eyes if he had them. The memories were too painful to bear. Alois pushed them aside and got up off of the floor. He had memorized the cells, so he knew exactly where to go to get food and water. Climbing up a staircase made out of boxes, the suitor maneuvered his way around the corridors until he came to a steep drop. He had made another staircase there as well.

Climbing down, Alois passed through the library and the secret corridor which led to the potato room. When he entered the room, he could feel the warmth from the candles suddenly die out. An angry voice sounded from inside. "Justine!" It said, and a monstrosity very similar to Alois in appearance shambled forth with surprising quickness. "No Basile, it's just me coming to get some food," replied Alois.

Basile grunted disappointedly and tossed Alois a potato. "Pity. I thought something exciting would happen today," he said, and the two suitors sat down together. "…I heard a mouse today." "Alois, we always hear mice. It's nothing new," replied Basile, biting into his potato. "Well, there is nothing else to do in here! We can't even play I-Spy because-" "DON'T SAY IT!" Basile quipped. He hated it when the other suitors mentioned their…predicament.

Alois punched him playfully in the shoulder. "You've always been too sensitive." "Yeah, well you've always been too forgiving." The two suitors paused, then turned to each other and laughed. "Remember when we used to hate each other?" said Alois, who would have flashed a smile if his mouth wasn't perpetually frozen in place. It was a wonder the suitors could even talk.

"Yeah. No offense, but you were an annoying little brat." The suitors were always brutally honest with each other. "I'm just glad you got over that ridiculous infatuation with…*shudders*…she-who-shall-not-be-named." Alois looked down sadly. He had never truly abandoned his love for her, but he wasn't about to let Basile know that. At least he wasn't crazy enough to want to keep her body down here with him forever anymore. And he was a bit angry at her. "Seriously, what was I thinking?" he said. Before Basile could respond, there was a furious banging on the door.

Basile got up and ran to the door. A heavily French accented voice came from the other side. "Basile, its Malo! I've got a surprise!" Basile smiled inwardly; Malo's 'surprises' were almost always something good. He swung open the door, and another bestial man-identical to Alois and Basile-rushed in. "Is Alois here? Oh boy, this may just be one of my best!" he said, and pushed Basile out of the way. Basile simply laughed as Malo started to ready his violin in the middle of the potato room. Alois and Basile looked on excitedly. Malo began his little monologue.

"Gentlemen! I give you…New Song! Sorry, I'm running out of titles." Malo bowed deeply and began to play. The violinist hit each note pitch-perfect, having plenty of time to practice in the sewer. It was truly a masterpiece. The song was long, to, and the effort that Malo had put into it was obvious. Malo finally concluded after nearly ten minutes, his hands raw. Basile and Alois clapped, and Malo bowed deeply.

"Defiantly one of your best!" said Alois. "Now, aren't you glad I got your violin back from the cells?" Malo sat down on a potato sack. "Alright, I suppose so. How many times do I have to apologize for that?" "You tried to eat us!" "Yeah yeah, water under the bridge. Let it go." While Basile hated mentioning the present, Malo wanted to avoid his more cannibalistic past. "It's not like I'm proud of it, I went insane! That's what happens when you stick an eccentric genius-" "Eccentric genius, he says," Alois whispered to Basile. Malo simply hmphed and proceeded to gnaw on his own fingers.