Hello everybody! Got the next chapter up and I must say, things are gonna be taking a turn for the worst and it's a sharp turn. There's a lot of explaining in this chapter, so I apologize for the potential bore this could turn out to be. But, there's some very very light slash towards the end so-WARNING! Hope you guys like it :D

Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Nightfall soaked up the town within a few hours and the once wild and noisy streets fell mute. The freezing cold air had picked up that night, as temperatures sunk lower into the single digits. There was no movement or activity of any kind. Animals and small creatures tucked themselves away in holes and deep, somber caves. Any possible shelter they could find. It was much too cold to hunt. The thick forest woods grew dreadfully dark and almost unbearably still. Not even the crickets sang their operas that night.

A presence lingered. Something vile. Dead leaves crunched under heavy feet. Twigs snapped and went echoing throughout the dead space. Very slowly, a ghouly figure slithered out of the blinding darkness. Drenched in a tattered hooded cloak as black as the raven, it crept through the dreary bitter evening on horseback. The "horse", much like it's rider, was not of the breathing world. A large black beast with sharp bladed claws of an eagle, and ghost-like wings pierced with massive, gaping holes. It's feathers were withered, and it's tail dragged behind it. And as the creature looked up from the snowy path, four narrow crimson slits split open. It screamed a godawful sound, ripping the black birds from the trees into the night sky.

There were plenty of frightening things roaming around all the time. So, naturally, people didn't seem to get as hysterical when encountered with something like this. However, this being was not from Montressor, nor was it an alien of a distant planet. Deep within the farthest reaches of space there grew a powerful fist of light. Some unknown, phenomenal force of burning energy thrown far out into infinity. At least that's what it seemed.

"Yes, my dear. Keep searching..." a soft whisper called. "Do not rest until you find what Mother is looking for..."

And with that, the demonic hunter shrieked a bloodcurdling cry and rode off into the heavy woods.

Before she knew it it was dawn. The sun didn't shine that morning. A hazy mess of white grey clouds stretched across the sky, and the wind hollered occasionally. Ariel creaked her eyes open for a brief moment, looking up at the clouds through the window. She rolled onto her side and slowly reached her arm back behind her, searching for the sheets. She remembered she hadn't put a nightgown on before she fell asleep, which seemed to be an annoying habit she'd taken up after Jim and her had sex. Because the house was normally chilly in the mornings, it would constantly wake her up. Her hand tapped the hard muscle of Jim's shoulder and her brilliant eyes sprang open. Since he recently began sneaking out of bed early she had simply assumed he would be gone when she awoke. His presence next to her gave her little pinches of excitement.

She would get to spend the morning laying next to him for the first time in weeks.

A swarm of butterflies fluttered around in her stomach when she turned to look at him. He was as sweet as can be, sleeping so soundly, and so beautiful. Almost immediately Ariel nuzzled in closer to him and pushed back a stray bang hanging across his eyelids. She cupped his cheek and kissed the tip of his sharp nose. His grey eyes peeked at the girl lying in front of him. Her red hair was a wild, fiery halo around her head and her eyes were glistening. A small smile curved his lips as he pulled the girl into his hard chest. They stayed like that for awhile.

Reluctantly, Ariel lifted herself from the warmth of his embrace and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She took a deep stretch, feeling the muscles in her back tighten. She hadn't felt this good for quite some time. Snatching her pink nightgown from the floor she tugged it on and swiftly made her way to the dresser on the other side of the room. Quietly, she rummaged through the unit grabbing a white bra and matching panties along with an olive green dress skirt and a creamy blouse with long sleeves.

With shaky hands she slapped some makeup on her face. Nothing too involved, just a little mascara and some lipstick-that was enough of a challenge for her. Most of the women she'd seen dining at the Inn always had a full face of makeup and it was (almost) always applied with expertise. She brushed her long hair and it rolled all down her back. The contrasting colors of her dress and hair kindly complimented each other. Her complexion was dewy and her ivory skin was nearly glowing. It was a bit puzzling when she gathered herself in the mirror, and her reflection left her slightly stunned.

Not that she didn't think she was pretty. She did. But when she usually looked in the mirror she hadn't thought her looks were this notable. They'd seemed to be...heightened.

She quickly disregarded it and left the room, sticking her feet in black pointed toe flats down by the foot of the steps. The kitchen and dining area was already up and running, buzzing with robotic servers and alien cooks. Rather than waiting for customers to start pouring in for the breakfast hour, she got to work. She mopped up the floors and wiped down all the tables. Restocked all the spice shakers and did up some of the dishes left over from the previous night. Since people would be showing up soon to have their morning coffee she threw the machine on, along with the swollen tea kettle. Usually, hired staff took care of these minor chores before opening, but Ariel always felt the need to help. It was nice to have a home and she wanted to take care of it the best she could.

By 9:30 the place was swinging in full motion. Sarah was walking around, taking orders and serving them up. There were a few other humans enjoying their breakfast at the Inn that morning. They were spread out across the rather large dining space. A group of old men dressed in suits and top hats sat together at a formal circle table in the corner of the dining room. Another group sat at another table towards the bar, and were quite noisy. They were men from town, and lived on pipe tobacco and hard drink. One of them was a very pretty brown headed girl. It looked like she was waiting for someone. She perched herself at the edge of the seat, her legs crossed at the ankles. She was wearing a soft green dress with lovely lace detailing in the bodice, skirt and sleeves that had stopped just above her elbows. There was beautiful pink silk cloak with white fur trimming on the hood draped about her shoulders. She had a book open in front of her while and absent mindedly began spinning a spoon around in her tea.

"There you are," Jim's arm slithered around Ariel and his hand crept up along her hip, startling her a bit. "Why'd you sneak away from me earlier?" his voice low and cool.

"I didn't sneak, I walked," she answered pushing back into him. "And I had to get down here and start working before things got crazy." Ariel stated.

"Well, I think you owe me one. I was looking forward to you know what..." his lips nipped at her neck, and his hand found her bottom and squeezed.

"Jim, stop it!" Ariel giggled, turning her head away from him. "What if someone sees?"

"Screw 'em," his hands going to town.

The red head relished in his sort of rough touches for a few anxious minutes before shaking him off of her.

"Alright, hands off," she said playfully but firm.

Ariel took a loaded tray from the serving hatch and stalked away from Jim's "feel good" weaponry. Though, she managed to pump a slight sway to her hips as she walked, silently promising him there would be more for later.

The morning flew by fairly quickly, and soon the lunch rush was marching in. Since the renovation, the Benbow Inn had been booming with business. Word of it's grand re-opening got out and spread like wildfire throughout town. Sarah's picture, along with the massive building of course, was featured in the paper 5 or 6 months back when the Hawkins' announced the Inn's marvelous return. At the time, Sarah found herself in puddles of stress with all the hectic activity surrounding the Inn during it's re-open. It was a lot of work, more work that one woman and her grown son could accomplish on their own, and the price would throw a wealthy investment banker's eyebrows into space. However, it was doable. Since Jim had withdrawn a tasty sum of precious gold and gems from the infamous hills of treasure in Flint's Trove, there was enough to indeed re-build Benbow "a hundred times over".

After hours of non-stop movement, the place seemed to die down again after the mid-afternoon craze. Tired and weary, Ariel plopped down at an empty table. A robotic waiter came over to her and offered to fetch something for her from the kitchen. With great hesitation, she ordered a bowl of Silver's Bonzabeast stew and some crackers. When she had time to look around the room she noticed the brown haired girl was still sitting there. Her eyes were glued to the book and her hair was taken out of it's pretty blue bow and hugged her slim shoulder blades. The female rested her chin in her hand and she her rosy cheeks were boiling. She looked pissed. Ariel couldn't blame her though. It appeared the mystery person was a no show. Why had she sat there all this time if (presumably) the guy hadn't shown up? Deciding it was none of her business, Ariel tore her eyes away from the bitter bookworm and waited patiently for her steaming bowl of nostalgia. And that it was. The smell and look of it made images and memories of Silver come flooding back to her brain, and she sat staring at it briefly, biting her lip hard to prevent tears from swelling. She missed him, a lot.

Ariel spent a handful of her life with Silver. Her parents had passed when she was younger and she was turned to an orphanage, which were not the highlighted years of her life at all. She was trapped in that godawful place for two years after her father, Triton had died from old age. She had a few sisters, but none were interested in taking on a eight year old at the time, since they were much older than her and had lives of their own. Husbands, houses, bills, pets. They were much too busy to take care of a lonely, poor as dirt child. As she reminisced on her past she became more and more irate. Since then Ariel never talked to her siblings, and had no desire of any kind to. Those two years were brutal. Very little patience was bestowed upon the children and all of the staff were ancient if not older. The orphanage was terribly underpaid, and in result, children usually slept on floors and used buckets as toilets. Ariel was lucky enough to escape the hell hole and run into the surprising secure wings of the "soft" pirate. She had been with him up until the day he made his departure/getaway after their return from Treasure Planet. Since then, Ariel's been living peacefully with Jim. The man who could very well be her one and only.

Somehow, in the midst of her sentimental recollection, everything went quiet. The brown headed girl was gone. The robots and aliens seemed to be too. It seemed as though she was completely alone. She called for Jim, but he didn't come. No one came. A bit spooked, Ariel took to her feet to investigate. She trudged up the long staircase and slowly emerged into the deep hallway off to the side of the house.

"Hello?" she called with prickles of worry.

No answer.

Where was everybody? Wasn't there a room full of people downstairs just a minute ago? Where was Sarah, and Delbert, and B.E.N? More importantly, where was Jim?

Ariel pushed onward, uneasiness rising and bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Just as she turned the corner there was a slender, darker woman standing with her back to her in the shadowed hallway. Ariel came to a halt and had to stop herself from gaping at the eerily striking female before her.

"Wh-Who are you?" she inquired, hoping fear hadn't registered in her voice.

Again, no answer.

"Uhm, Miss?"

Finally, the woman turned around. Her obscure eyes glowed a foggy sea color and her lips were drenched in deep green. Hair brushed her shoulders in thick black chunks. There were big gold bangles hanging off her wrists and ankle. As she moved, they clicked and rang. Her skin was an odd dark color. She was wearing a green and gold striped corset and a white top that drooped around her tiny shoulders. A deep plum colored skirt stopped just above her ankles while a thick lighter purple wrap with big golden disks hung about her waist. She was quite a sight.

There was something shinning in her creepy, extraordinary eyes that read danger. She must have been supernatural because in a blink she was five inches away from Ariel's face. Ariel stumbled back in surprise, but caught herself the last second. Without a hint of warning the female threw her fist into Ariel's stomach. The girl doubled over in pain and slumped to her knees. Suddenly Ariel felt the attacker's presence above her and, as fast as possible, rolled across the floor, missing the sharp elbow that came crashing down. Something switched over in Ariel's mind and the confusion began to cease as sheer fear seeped in. The red head scrambled to her feet and booked it towards the bedroom but the woman poof'd in front of her again. With a cry of terror she spun on her heel and bolted in the other direction. A hard yank of her hair pulled Ariel into the trapper's impressive vice-like grip from behind.

"Where do you think you're going, precious?" her raspy voice hissed into Ariel's ear.

Immediately Ariel started squirming and twisting away from the being's arms, but with a fast replacement of surprisingly strong hands she stopped cold. One latched itself to her right breast while the other made its way down, pass her abdomen.

The red head began calling out, loud and agonizing. "Now, now." The female soothed, smacking a hand over Ariel's mouth. Where in the hell was Jim? Couldn't he hear her fierce cries for help? Just then a dreadful thought crept it's way into the front of the girl's mind and her heart sank straight down into her toes. She choked on a hoarse sob and needed to break free. But how? This...thing...was strong. Stronger than Ariel was. She had to think fast.

"My, my, aren't you the sweetest thing? Mm, I could just eat you up, sugar." It whispered to her, caressing her privates. "Too bad Mama gets you. I wish I could have you all to myself..."

...Mama? Ariel panicked, kicking and flailing. But with another acute blow to the back her struggling proved to be futile. Tears streamed down her soft cheeks and her vision blurred. She hated that she couldn't do anything; she hated being helpless.

"P-Please...please..." came her little voice in between heavy sobs.

"I like the sound of your begging." it laughed, rubbing harder. Disgusted, Ariel sobbed louder. "Yes...cry for me, sugar."

Determined to find something handy, Ariel scanned the room through wet, blurry eyes. She happened to peer out the window and noticed a bird paused in mid flight. Everything was still. Time had stopped. That must have been the reason why Jim hadn't "come to the rescue". Great, so she was stuck. Suspended in time with this atrocious creature and no one to help. She had to do something. Something that would prevent her from being raped by this succubus. She had a no-nonsense, gut feeling that's where she was headed. With little to no options, Ariel decided the best thing to do was fight. Fight for her life. In an agile fit of motion, Ariel lunged forward with all her might and tore at the hands holding her captive. It was definitely challenging, no doubt about that, but she broke free. In a rapid haste, the red head turned and kicked the woman wherever she could. Hard. The female shrieked and poof'd herself out of sight.

Ariel hightailed out of the hallway and down the marble staircase. She had no idea how to bring herself up to speed. How to kick start time. Propelling through the back door near the kitchen, she ran out into the frigid hills of snow. Her bare feet protested, but she kept moving. Through fiery locks of red hair, Ariel looked back over her shoulder to make sure the awful thing wasn't charging after her. There was nothing. All of a sudden her knees gave out, and she went tumbling down face first in the powdered snow. Her body skidded a tad atop the ice and her feet were blistering red. Ariel heard the raw air break and barely opened her eyes. The deadly, beautiful female appeared, hovering high above a few feet away from her. In pure defeat, the girl gave herself a mental pat on the back for putting up a good fight. She somehow managed to out run the thing long enough, to get away before she was consciously mutilated and that seemed to be something worth praise. Ariel then closed her pretty eyes, awaiting death.

"Finally, you've stopped running from me kitten...now I can do with you what I want..."

"No Esmeralda..." a seductive voice chimed, "not yet. You must be patient."

"But she's right here Mama, we can take her now!" Esmeralda shouted, spitting anger.

"Not until I want to!" the thunderous tone came. "You will do what I say! Now leave there and come to me at once!" it hissed.

With a disgruntled sigh, the jockey disappeared in the sky, and time clicked back on.

Ruh-roh, shits gettin' a little real, no? Introduced a couple other Disney characters, and I know I know, I made Esmeralda evil. She seemed like she'd be the best for the part, and she kinda is. At least in my twisted mind. Also sorry, for the slight slash in this chapter, I wanted to give it that urgency. Stayed tuned for the next chapter! More to come with the weird ghoul man and his, ah, horse. It was definitely Dementor inspired lol

Thanks a bunch guys! Please review :D