She didn't remember that much. What she last witnessed was too irrational to believe. A man floating in the air, green breams coming out of his hands and the way his eyes lit up. Sam was in a deep sleep, which in her case wasn't a surprise. She did dream a lot but rarely she'd have a nightmare. The worst one she remembered took place in detention a place that thought it was her home. Everyone was Scottish-Highland dancing, even her. She didn't know if this one was worse.
Sam would wake up on a Monday morning to realize that everything starting from the lab experiment was all an illusion her mind played. Freddie never knew about her feelings for her and she never took Ringo trick-or-treating with his friends. She'd have to clean up and start the day.
But that wasn't what happened.
Her eyes expected a powder white ceiling to appear with a fluffy ginger cat snuggled by her. But the ceiling was nearly black, lit by melted candles in chain chandeliers. Gravity was extinct as she was floating in midair like a sleepy ghost. The bed she lay on was rock hard and colder than ice. When she paid closer attention, she found out why she was floating; she was being carried by her capturer up a long staircase. Her stomach was tied in knots and she could feel her skin burn as if she was ill. He held her the way a little girl held her doll.
Sam breathed heavier. It felt like the place literally had no oxygen. Paris could hear every tick and looked down at her as he continued walking.
"Evening." He grinned maliciously. Sam didn't say anything. Something about him made her want to just rest. A gate of bars rose from the ground making distracting sounds as the chains turned. She could see carving on the ceiling. With the weak candles floating in the air, it was impossible to see a thing. But she thought she saw a man and a woman. Paris continued to carry her up a stairway. "My Swan, you look tired. Sleep."
Sam's head lolled down as his stroll ended. Her sleeping body was positioned in a night black casket. The scent of her blood came to his nose like food from a kitchen.
"Finally, I have you…" he breathed. "Tonight will be quite a night for us." His long pale finger caressed her temple and shifted to her neck. The other hand went through her thick hair combing it like a brush. Taking a strand of hair, he pressed it against his nose and smelled the scent of shampoo for blondes. Her eyes opened like a baby's ready to cry after a long nap. Paris only smiled when she moaned. "Hello there My Swan. Did you have a pleasant slumber? It's a shame; you looked really peaceful in your sleep…" He took her head with his cold hands.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sam snapped pushing him off. "You sick nub!" She was quick to stand herself up and swing her legs out.
"I see you still don't believe me."
"Great costume, great set, great props!" Sam exclaimed with her arms apart. "You can come out people!"
"It's just us here."
"This is a hidden camera show that pulls pranks of web stars I know it!"
"This is no joke Odette. Get your mind off reality. The impossible is right in front of you."
"I still don't believe that I've been taken by a real vampire. Everything has a rational explanation."
"There's nothing rational about tonight." He stepped up to her. "You mother wont listen, the police wont listen… just the prince."
"What prince?"
"Shall we discuss this over dinner?"
Sam backed away, breathing heavily. Paris only watched her as she backed away too far and fell over the step. Sam hit her head on the edge of one of the stone steps.
"Ouch…" she muttered.
"Of all the maidens that fled, that was quite unique." When she saw him stepping towards her she yelled:
"Don't come any closer!"
"That crash can erase some of your memory." He told her. "Here…"
"Don't touch me!"
Paris lifted her head and rubbed the back of it with his hand. The pain erased quickly. This just gave Sam an open invitation to keep running. She ran to the closest door and swung it open. "You can't run away from the past!" Sam bounced back screaming and ran to another exit but was blocked. "The only way out is in!"
"Stop that!" Sam shrieked terrified. "Leave me alone!"
"You may have married that bloody prince, but not this time!"
Sam opened another door to see no one in front of her but just a dark hall. She charged down the halls yanking at every door. All of them were locked and for what purpose? He'd find her even if she did hide in any of those rooms. One door was open and Sam shut it and clicked the lock.
The place was dim and extensive. A long table was in the center with fine carved chairs placed on the chairs and two big chairs at the ends that looked like where the king and queen sat. The fireplace made the place glow. Soft music was being played in the corner. A harp, piano and violin were literally playing by themselves.
But the thing that excited Sam the most was the food! It was all over the table. Giant platters of meat and fish were decorated. Ham, turkey, steak, chicken, rips and something she didn't recognize were in the center with seafood like the giant lobster and the huge ugly fish. Fruits and vegetables were there too, fresh from the garden. The whole place smelled like Sam's fantasy.
"I'm starved." She told herself licking her lips. She hesitated at first. There could have been something in the food but she shook that thought off and ripped out a turkey leg. The drumstick was oversized from the normal meat. "They even kept the skin…" She peeled that off and opened her mouth when she was pushed to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing?" a female voice yelled out. "Don't eat that! Don't you remember what Hades did to Persephone?"
"Who the hell said that?" Sam burst.
"Me!" the figure of a ghost popped in front of her. She was wispy yet graceful with an old gown. Her hair was longer than Sam's and messy. She looked miserable and what Sam starred at more were two holes punctured in her neck.
"Oh my god!"
"You afraid of me?"
"You scared the shit out of me!" Sam snapped.
"Well I'm only trying to stop you."
"From what I'm starved!"
"I pushed you over for a reason. Please listen to me."
"What do you want?"
"Listen here good." The ghost sneered. "I've been trapped here for five hundred damn years! I want out."
"Then go."
"I cant! Paris has my soul and the souls of every other victim he had. We can't go the heaven or anything."
"So where are the rest of you?"
"Locked up in a box." Said the ghost. "But I'm so glad you're here. You can save us!"
"How?" Sam asked.
"If you defeat Paris, you can snag the key from his cloak and unlock the Pandora Box."
Sam shook her head with disbelief.
"Look, your past life Odette escaped him yet failed to help us out."
"Who the hell is Odette!" Sam cursed. "He keeps saying her name over and over and its getting stuck in my mind. Who the hell is she?"
"She's your past life. You were once here before she died and came back to Earth as you. Now stop interrupting me!"
"I'm listening." Said Sam.
"Do not eat or drink anything unless you want to be trapped here for good. And don't look into his eyes. He'll seduce you and try to make you fall for him. That's how the rest of us got here. Don't look at him and don't let him near your neck. Do you have a cross on you?"
"No."
"Oh well." Said the ghost. "Just please help us Odette, or whatever your name is."
"Sam."
"Great." The doorknob wiggled. The ghosts zoomed off through the wall as Paris opened the door.
"I thought you' be in here." He said with a grin. Sam crawled away, still on the ground. "I see you helped yourself."
"Actually I'm not hungry anymore." Sam lied.
"You're starved. I know you are. Please, have some meat."
"I said I'm fine." Said Sam trying to remain calm. "So I have a questioning for you; who is Odette?"
"Ah… So glad you asked my dear." He extended his long arm. "Come, I will show you."
Right then, Sam knew she was about to listen to a long story. The place was very similar to the Haunted Mansion from Disney. Paintings of people turned into corpses as she passed them and statues moved their heads, glaring with hate carved eyes. Sam felt uneasy with Paris holding her wrist but it was like being in Phantom of the Opera.
"The path to the library is a long one." He told her. "You shouldn't tire out."
"I like walking." Sam told him. "Don't pick me up again."
"I bet you can't walk on water." Paris pointed forward and Sam saw the rest of the path made from water. A gondola boat awaited them and Paris helped her on. "Please lay down."
"I'm fine. So who the hell is Odette?"
"She was you in the past life."
"And you mistake me for her."
"You are her. You just don't remember. Allow me to refresh your memory."
The boat ride was very silent. As Paris rowed, Sam looked at the murky water in disgust and wondered how anyone could live there. Rats crawled on the wet stone as they searched from crumbs. Paris took out a chunk of meat and tossed it at them. The rats went for it like two starved lions devouring human flesh. The only light was by candles.
"How do you see?"
"I'm a vampire. We can see in the dark."
"What cant you do?" Sam sneered in disgust. Paris only smirked.
"Jealous much?"
"Go to hell."
"I've already been there." The boat ride stopped and Sam stood up. As she and Paris kept on walking, the boat backed away. As Paris pulled a switch on the wall, Sam wondered if Freddie was actually going to save her.
"You lived in a town in Scotland." Paris explained trying to have Sam understand. "For a living you took care of your sick mother and learned to hunt with your father. When I first saw you, you were hanging sheets on a clothes line." He brought her closer to an oval portrait of a young woman, around eighteen, dressed in fine green silk. Her hair was in a bun and everywhere she wore emeralds. She looked gorgeous indeed.
"You said she was a peasant." Sam added. "What's with the wealth?"
"You secretly met with Prince Derrik, that man you were in the car with." Sam was so confused about what he was trying to say. "You were in love with him but you couldn't wed because of the marriage law. That didn't stop you though."
"And…"
"You two ran away and started your own family."
Sam shook her head. "The woman in the painting is not me."
"It is." Said Paris nodding. "The same face shape, the same nose." Sam focused more on the painting.
"So she kinda looks like me." Paris sighed.
"You're a very difficult child you know that."
"I know and I'm proud of it."
"Here…" he pushed her forward to the other side of the room to a giant portrait of a wealthy family. A woman sat in a chair as her husband sat behind her. She was holding a newborn child in her arms and three other children were in fine attire. The wife was the same woman in the previous picture. "Look at the husband. Who does he remind you of?"
Sam began to grow nervous when she got a close look at him.
"Freddie…"
"Prince Derrik, he was in the past."
"Shut up!" Sam snapped backing away. "This bullshit has got to stop! I was never a Scottish woman who married a prince! I've never even been to Scotland! My name is Sam Puckett! I'm a star on the internet, not a queen!" Slowly, tears began to form in her eyes. Paris reached his arm out once more. "Get away!" She pulled her cross-shaped necklace and beamed it at him. Paris was afraid slightly but the cross was tiny.
Sam ran out of the room and kept running through the hall running into a few rats. The water cut her off and the boat was gone. When she looked back, Paris was approaching her.
"Oh God…" she crawled into the water that felt like she was in the sewer and swam off. Her hood was yanked over the water as Paris picked her up and carried her dirty body.
"I guess I'll have to lock you up until you do remember."
"I'm not her!" she screamed as Paris dragged her effortlessly away. He grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her out and walked with her struggling. He just smirked at her failed attempts to get away.
"Up the stairs, to the highest room in the tallest tower!" he roared. "Just like in the fairy tales! There will be a happy ending for me and if the prince comes, I'll slaughter him and serve him to you.
"Let me go!" Sam bit his hand. He only raised his eyebrows and looked unimpressed.
"I'm sorry, I cant do that."
He pulled her into an empty room that had nothing but a bed. The door locked as he removed a pink vile from his pocket.
"Here, this should make you cooperate." He took her by the neck and shoved the tube of the bottle in her throat so she could only breathe by swallowing. Paris grinned as the bottle fell and broke. She swallowed enough for it to be effective. Sam would have fought back again, but the fumes of the potion made her fall asleep. The fumes on the floor turned pink and formed into a heart. "When you wake up, you'll be much calmer." Paris gently placed her in the bed and pulled the covers over her. "You'll know everything." He sniffed her neck. "It smells delightful. I must have some. But not now. I want to wait. Goodnight Odette."