Sam was feeling smothered and boxed in. Ever since the run in on the docks with her mother's evil stepmother, Alexis hadn't left her alone for a second. The only time she wasn't in her mother's line of sight was when she was in school. But even in school she knew there was a bodyguard watching her. This Helena woman had all the adults in her life on edge and Sam couldn't get a good enough answer from any of them as to way. All they would say is that Helena was dangerous and evil. They were all worried that she would do something to Sam, but they wouldn't tell Sam what that might be. They just kept her in this tight little bubble that was starting to piss her off.
She'd been surprised when Alexis said they were going to Windermere for dinner. She knew that her mother was being extra cautious about taking Sam out, but she supposed Alexis felt she would be safe there because of Stefan. As was their new tradition she and Nikolas had gone to his sitting room for a chess lesson. When her cousin excused himself from the room for a few minutes Sam found herself looking around the large room. In the corner she noticed that a part of the wall was open. She smirked. It had been ages since she'd explored the tunnels of the old castle. Without any hesitation Sam, after finding a flashlight, entered the passageway and closed the panel behind her.
The long passageways thrilled Sam. She loved spending time alone just walking and exploring. As she went along she would make up stories about treasure hunters looking for the lost treasures of long dead royals. Her favorite fantasy was about the displaced princess who was looking for just the right piece of treasure that would take her home to her family. She of course was the princess, but she wasn't like some silly Disney princess, she was more like Lara Croft. As Sam rounded a corner she found herself in a brightly lit section of tunnel that was colder then other parts of the tunnel. She could hear the sound of the lake washing over the shore in the distance, which let her know she was in one of the tunnels that lead outside. Sam hadn't realized it as she walked but she'd been lead there. She didn't realize it until it was to late.
"Hello darling Samantha." Helena greeted as she came out of the shadows.
Sam froze in place as she looked at the woman. She didn't look dangerous, but Sam knew looks could be deceiving.
"Don't be frightened my dear." Helena said as sweetly as Helena Cassadine could manage. "I won't harm you."
It took several seconds but Sam managed to find her voice. "That's not what everyone else thinks. Alexis, Stefan, even Jax expect you to kill me or something."
"And why would I do that?" Helena asked as she came closer to the girl. "Why would I ever harm my beloved Mikkos' granddaughter? His noble blood runs through you veins, my dear. His dark eyes stare out at me from his round face. His passion and love of adventure shines from you like a beckon."
"You hate my mother." Sam said as she watched the woman circle her. "I look like her, and if you think I look like my grandfather, that means she looks like him too."
That prickled against Helena's skin like static shock. The idea of Alexis being anything like Mikkos was sickening. The woman might have the look of a Cassadine, but where it mattered she was much too much like her insipid diva mother. "You have potential your mother never had."
"Potential for what?" Sam asked, her eyes never leaving the woman as she continued to walk around her. "Would you stop circling me like a vulture. You're making me dizzy."
Helena smiled at the girl. Such bravery in the face of someone everyone told her was an enemy. "To be a truly great Cassadine." She answered as she stopped and stood in front of Sam.
"And what does that mean?" Sam asked. "To be a great Cassadine?"
Helena smiled at the girl as she explained, "To be a Cassadine is to be powerful. We have spent generations bending the world to our will, ruling from great seats of power." She sat on a nearby create and gently reached out to Sam, pulling her close. "No one walks over us. No one uses us, abuses us, or takes advantage of us. We are strong, Samantha. We are noble. And we are superior to all others."
When Nikolas returned to find Samantha gone he ran downstairs to the main sitting room where the adults where. "Uncle! Aunt Alexis!"
"What is it Nikolas?" Stefan asked as he quickly got to his feet.
"Samantha's gone!" Nikolas informed them. "I stepped out of the room for only a moment, I swear, and when I returned she was gone!"
Panic and fear gripped at Alexis' very soul. "Helena."
Without hesitation Stefan called for his men. They would search every nook and corner of the estate until they found his niece.
"I'm sure she's fine." Kristina reassured. "She's probably in the tunnels somewhere. You know how much she loves them."
"Kristina is right." Stefan said as he put his hand on his sister's shoulder. "She's been trying to map the tunnels correct? I'm sure that's what she's doing. There's an entrance in Nikolas' room. We'll begin there."
"What do you want from me?" Sam asked as she stared into Helena's cold eyes. There was something there but Sam didn't think it was human. Looking into Helena's eyes wasn't like looking into her mother's or Kristina's or even Stefan's. There was no warmth, no emotion that didn't make Sam want to run screaming.
"I want you to come with me." Helena said sweetly.
Sam crossed her arms in the same way her mother did as she asked, "Why? Got a bunch of puppies you need help killing to make a new coat?"
Helena laughed. "Oh, you have Mikkos' sense of humor. I like that." She smiled at the girl and caressed her cheek. "Come with me and I'll show you all the wonders of the world, Samantha."
"Nikolas is your grandson." Sam replied. "I'm no one to you. Why do you want me to come with you?"
Helena smiled. "Because my darling you are Mikkos Cassadine's granddaughter and unlike you're cousin you haven't been polluted beyond redemption. I would raise you to be a true Cassadine, not some pathetic peasant. With the proper education you could rule with the power of generations of czars and saints."
"You realize there was a revolution right?" Sam asked as she stood there looking at the woman carefully. Helena had said all the right things, playing off how Sam felt about being used and abandon, she offered security in a way, but Sam wasn't a stupid kid. She knew a con when she saw one. "You want a puppet, but mainly you want to hurt my mother. You can't stand that fact that Mikkos loved my grandmother and not you."
Anger flashed in Helena's eyes and she had to fight with herself not to strike the child. After she reined in her emotions she said, "I would never harm my dear Natasha."
Sam snorted. "You're a good liar, a good con, but your full of crap. You and Mikkos took me from her once and you want to do it again. What better way to hurt her then to turn me into something like you?" Sam shook her head. "No, I'm not leaving my mom. I won't hurt her and I won't let you hurt her either."
"She can't give you what I can." Helena hissed. She didn't like being told no.
Sam shrugged her shoulders. "She can give me everything I want and need." Sam shook her head again. "I'm not your granddaughter, I'm not Mikkos' Cassadine's granddaughter; I'm Alexis Davis' daughter. So thank you for the offer but you can shove it."
"You should really reconsider." Helena said as she snatched the front of Sam's shirt.
"Let her go!" Alexis screamed.
"She gave you her answer Mother." Stefan added as he moved towards them. "Now leave the girl alone."
Sam wanted nothing more then to run to Alexis but she didn't want Helena to see her scared. She was relieved beyond belief when Stefan walked over and pulled Helena's hand away and picked her up. She almost buried her face in his neck, but managed to keep her gaze focused on Helena. She would not show this woman fear, no matter how badly she frightened her.
Helena would have argued and fought back against her hated son and Mikkos' little bastard, but she didn't feel like dealing with the armed men who were also in the room. She smiled at Sam as she said, "I'll see you soon my darling. Give my love to your cousin Nikolas."
It wasn't until Helena was out of sight, his men following to make sure she left the island, that Stefan set Sam on her feet and she ran right to her mother. Alexis wrapped her arms tightly around her child. "Are you alright?" Alexis asked as she clung to her little girl.
"I'm ok." Sam said as she buried her face in her mother's chest. "I'm not the one she wants to hurt." Sam tightened her hold on Alexis, but because she was scared of Helena for herself, but because she was scared of Helena for her mother.
Stefan led them out of the tunnels while Sam told them what happened. Once they were back in the house proper, Alexis took Sam to what use to be her rooms. Her emotions were on a rollercoaster ride, switching from fear, relief, and anger. "What the hell were you thinking Samantha! I told you I didn't want you alone while we were here!"
"I was feeling cooped up." Sam explained. "I haven't been alone since that day on the docks!"
"With damn good reason!" Alexis shouted back. "That woman is crazy and dangerous, Samantha! You could have been hurt! She could have kidnapped you! She could have killed you!"
"I didn't know she was going to be in there!" Sam replied as she threw herself onto the loveseat in the room and crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't know it was a set up!"
"That's my point Samantha!" Alexis said as she sat beside her daughter. "You never know what that old witch is going to do! She's unpredictable and dangerous!" She grabbed her daughter and pulled her into her arms and held her tightly. "If anything happened to you it would kill me. I can't loose you again, Sam, I just can't."
Sam pushed away and looked at her mother carefully. She saw the fear in her eyes and it was a knife in her heart. Tears welled in Sam's big brown eyes. "I'm sorry, Alexis, I didn't mean to scare you."
Alexis pulled Sam close again and wrapped her arms around her. After they left Spoon Island Alexis took Sam and Kristina home. Once she was sure her girls were safe she left the penthouse without a word.
As Helena moved around her room she couldn't help but feel that something was off. The moment she'd stepped foot on her yacht she'd felt it. Her manservant had reassured her that everything was fine, but she simply couldn't shake the feeling. Walking over to her bar she poured herself a glass of sherry, but before taking a sip she had the sudden urge to turn around.
"I warned you to stay away from my daughter." Alexis said from where she stood on the other side of the room.
Helena smirked. "Such a lovely child. She'll make an exceptional minion."
Alexis moved closer to the vile woman who had taken so much from her in her life. "I won't allow you near my child, Helena."
Alexis was no threat to her so Helena moved to sit in her favorite chair. "You're threats are becoming a bore, Natasha."
"Did you know that keeping mementos of your kills is one of the markers of a psycho serial killer?" Alexis asked in a calm voice as she approached Helena. "You really should hide yours better, you know. It was easy to find this one."
Helena got to her feet quickly but not quick enough to stop what was happening. Alexis grabbed Helena and shoved her up against the wall before pressing the blade of the knife she had in her hand against Helena's throat. She'd pushed Helena in such a way that her hands were trapped behind her, and Alexis was using her own body and weight to press against Helena, keeping her immobile.
Strangely enough it wasn't fear that Helena felt as the sharpness of the blade bit into her skin, it was pride. "Ah, the righteous fury of a mother protecting her most beloved child, I know the feeling well, but do you have what it takes to follow through, Natasha? Are you Cassadine enough to slit my throat with the very dagger I used on your mother?"
Anger and hate flashed in Alexis' eyes as she moved the knife so it's tip bit into Helena's throat. She looked the woman who'd raised her in the eyes as blood appeared on the silver tip. "To keep my daughter safe from you, damn straight I am."
"Don't do it Natasha." Luke called from the doorway. "She isn't worth it."
"Ahh Luke." Helena said despite the discomfort and pain Alexis was causing her. "Come to join the party have you?"
Luke came up behind Alexis but didn't try to physically stop her. "If you kill her, Alexis, you'll kill the very best part of yourself. She'll finally have won because she'll have turned you into something just like her."
"I won't have her toying with Sam." Alexis told him. A small stream of blood had made its way down the blade and was starting to touch Alexis' skin. Her mind noticed and it was making her feel sick. "I won't have her hurting my daughter!"
"I think she gets the message darlin'." Luke replied. "You've made her bleed, Alexis, I don't think anyone has ever done that before."
Helena looked into Alexis' eyes and whispered, "Do it my little mouse. Don't be so weak!" She hissed. "Don't be a coward, Natasha!"
Alexis pressed a little harder. Dark eyes locked with cold ones for several long moments before Alexis finally said, "Killing you would be cowardly. It would turn me into something I'm not willing to be." She pulled the knife away from Helena's throat only to press it into the flesh on the woman's chest where her heart should be, drawing blood a second time. "I win, Helena, I got the better of you, I'm spearing your life; stay away from me and mine." She pressed harder until she heard a staggered gasp of pain from Helena. It wasn't a fatal wound, but it was deep enough that it would scar. "Swear it!"
"I give you my word." Helena replied as her eyes pinched in pain.
For several seconds Alexis held the knife, giving it a little twist before stepping back from the woman. She kept the knife held out as she backed away. There were two streams of blood flowing from where she'd cut her stepmother. There was blood on her hand. Alexis felt sick.
"Come on darlin'." Luke said as he took hold of Alexis' arm. "I'm buying you a drink." He led Alexis off the yacht and down the docks. Alexis still had the knife in her hand. When they were far enough to be out of sight of Helena's yacht she finally had to stop and throw up. Once her stomach was empty and she could see past the tears Alexis looked at the knife in her hand for several long seconds before hurling it out into the lake. The splash it made was as loud as a slamming door.
"You are one impressive woman." Luke said once Alexis had collected herself a little.
Alexis looked at him and shook her head. "Just a scared mother."
"I wouldn't worry about Helena." Luke reassured. "At least not when it comes to Sam."
"She'll find a new reason to blacken our doorstep." Alexis said with a knowing nod.
Luke smiled at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Alexis asked as she watched Luke watching her.
"You're really hot when you go all Cassadine." Luke teased.
Alexis groaned and pushed pasted him. "I'm going home."
"What about that drink?" Luke called out after her.
"Have one for me." Alexis called back. "I just want to go home and be with my daughter."
Once she was alone Helena walked back over to her bar. She picked up one of the towels and pressed it to her bleeding wounds. Clearly she had underestimated her stepdaughter. That wouldn't be a mistake she made twice. Picking up her glass of sherry she walked over and sat in her chair once again. Taking a sip she let her mind wander to what her next step would be.
It hadn't been Alexis who had caused Helena's odd feelings. It hadn't been Jax's ladylove who'd dispatched Helena's boy toys, nor had it been Luke. He'd watched the whole scene play out and couldn't help but smile. Alexis was magnificent. Now he watched as Helena sipped at her evening sherry and waited. When he noticed the slack look coming over her, as if her limbs were suddenly too heavy, and she was suddenly very tired he walked out from his hiding place.
"Good evening, Mrs. Cassadine." He purred as he approached her. "Don't panic. You're not going to die, you're simply going to be very weak for some time."
Helena's eyes went wide as she looked at the man. She didn't know him and yet he seemed familiar. "Who?" She whispered in a strained voice.
He smiled at her. "I've had many names, and faces, over the years. I find it keeps things interesting." He knelt down in front of her as her body went limp. "But you may call me Mr. Craig."
"Why?" Helena asked in an even more strained voice.
"My reason is quiet simple really." Jerry told her as he reached out and patted her cheek. "I'm protecting Alexandra and dear sweet Sam."
Helena looked into the man's eyes for several seconds before her eyes went wide again. She tried to say something but he put his finger over her lips. He smiled at her before picking her up and carrying her into the bedroom. Once he was sure she was secure he headed up to the bridge and pulled out of the berth and away from the harbor. He would make sure that Helena was no longer a threat to his family.