Legend

Legacy of Darkness

Juliette sat down on the baby blue plush arm chair in front of the very large fireplace in her bedroom.  She curled up in a green knitted blanket her grandmother had given her years ago and cracked open her favorite volume of sonnets and poems.  She always loved to spend the last few hours before bedtime reading.  It always relaxed her and got her out of the way of her father and older sister's constant arguing. 

It was always the same argument:  Her father didn't want her to go out into the forest to escapade with her lover and she wanted to do what ever she wanted to.  Both sides where incredibly stubborn and neither would give sway.  So Juliette stayed out of sight.

But the usual shouting and yelling never started.  Juliette set her book down a moment and heard utter silence.  She turned to look at her door hoping to catch some sound but there was still nothing.  She blinked as she turned her head back to her book and was shocked when she opened her eyes less then a second later.

Juliette froze as she saw the subtle changes in the room.  It was almost as if the warmth had been stricken from the room.  The fire still blazed in the large fireplace but it did not shed much light.  The gold candle holders on the mantle held black candles instead of the original white sticks.  The painting above the mantle that used to be two angels playing their lutes was replaced with two demons, naked, and doing acts that the church forbid even among married couples.

Juliette gasped.  She stood up, the now blood red silk blanket tumbling to the black marble floor.  She spun around to see the chair she had been sitting in, now a crimson and gold lounge chair and a onyx black end table beside it with two silver wine glasses set upon it and a black bottle of wine set next to them.

Juliette's eyes moved beyond her sitting area to where her canopy bed was and held her breath as she saw her white linen sheets replaced with red silk sheets, her comforter turned black as midnight, and her plush animals replaced with red and gold pillows strewn everywhere.  She had to look away for a moment as she realized that there were now handcuffs attached to all four posts.  They were even hanging for the black silk canopy.

Juliette bolted to the door and pulled with all her might on the gold handle.  But it would not move.  She ran to the opposite side of the room, pulled aside some now vulgar tapestries to try the servant's entrance but there was no door. 

Juliette felt panic starting to well up in her throat but she pushed it down and tried to clear her head.  She took a deep calming breath with her eyes closed.  But the room was the same when she opened her eyes again.  And it was then that she noticed that her white cotton night gown was replaced with a sheer black satin slip.  She crossed her arms in an attempt to cover more of her skin but it didn't help.  Her long dark hair fell into her face as well as it fell out of its braid and hung wildly down her back.

Juliette strolled across the room to recover the blanket she had previously been covered in.  But when she reached the crimson and gold chair to look on the floor where it should have fell it was no longer there.  Neither was the book that she had been reading.  She was about to turn around to grab the blanket off the bed when something caught her eye. She looked into the fire place where a small fire burned and noticed that it was growing larger.  It started to burn higher until it was as tall as the fireplace itself, which was over six feet tall. 

Juliette backed away slightly as she started to make out the figure of a man in the flames and a set of large horns on his head.  The figure solidified and brilliant green eyes flashed open and fixed on her as she stood just before the bed, the slip night gown hugging her thin body tightly and her hair flowing from the air rushing out of the fireplace.

Juliette heard a deep throated laugh from the being in the fire.  Her mind told her to flee from the room, but her body would not respond.  She watched as one leg stepped forward out of the fire to place a cloven hoof on the black marble flooring.  Black hair covered the leg and continued up from the calf to the thigh and under a black silk loin cloth.  Juliette could do nothing but stare as the creature came out of the fireplace.  Above the loincloth was smooth red skin over heavy muscles.  Juliette's brown eyes met with a snarling smirk and violently green eyes that echoed dominance and desire.

The obviously male creature looked over Juliette's bare skin and face and the smirk dropped away into more of a scowl.  His right hand was raised to rub his pronounced chin as he continued to stare at her. 

"The resemblance is uncanny," he finally spoke with a deep invading tone.  "So exact that you almost had me fooled."  He laughed then while throwing his head and horns back.  "And yet," he mused as he took a step forward and ate her with his eyes.  "You are so much more then she."  He took another step toward her and Juliette tried to back up, but her legs met the silk of the bed and she almost lost her balance.

"Who…" Juliette finally managed to stutter.  "Who are you?"

The man laughed again, almost shaking the floor as he did so.

"You know me," he boomed with another step forward that brought him to stand only an arms length away from her.  "And I know you now."  Juliette looked up at him, she stood barely to his shoulders.  She knew he was capable of great power.  Her life would be nothing in his hands.

Juliette tried to speak but he placed his red index finger over her mouth, careful not to scratch her with his claws.

"I thought I had found my match," he began as he leaned in to whisper into her ear.  "But what I found was only a weak imitation of you."

"Lily," Juliette breathed in surprise.  This creature knew her twin sister.

"Yes," he hissed as his tongue flicked out to her earlobe.

Juliette's body flinched at the unexpected affection and her ears started to burn red hot with embarrassment.  The creature just smiled as he heard her sudden intake of breath and the ears reddening.

"But…" Juliette started but stopped again as he fixed her with a firm stare.

"She is nothing to me," he almost spat.  "A mere annoyance to be dealt with."  He searched her face with his flaming green eyes.  "It is you I was fated to be with."  And with that, he wrapped on arm around her waist and the other behind her neck and leaned down to kiss her hard and passionately on the lips.  She tensed for only a moment but melted as his tongue entered her mouth.  All she could do was hold onto him, as he pressed himself onto her.  She could feel the heat of him on her body and the desire that rose between them.  But he released her suddenly and took a step back.  His eyes crawled over her body once more but he shook his head.

"I will not make the same mistake," he bellowed angrily, old memories flooding his mind.  He looked longingly at Juliette, gently caressed her cheek.  And with that, he turned around, the flames of the fire flared up high and he entered the fire place.  His form diminishing until he was no longer there and the fire burned lowly in the hearth. 

Juliette burst into tears.