A/N: well well, third chapter already? YUMMY! Anywho, thankies to all the reviewers, keep them coming! Good, bad, ugly…I DON'T CARE! XD
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Victoria sat glumly, hardly listening to the conversation taking place. Upon returning to her home, and finding her parents hiding together in the master bedroom (How peculiar, Victoria had thought to herself), they had all helped set the dining room right and sat down to discuss what would become of the newly wedded couple. Barkis was, not surprisingly, trying to weasel some money, ANY money, from Victoria's parents, who would have nothing to do with that. Vaguely, she overheard something about the Everglot's summer home being a suitable honeymoon suite, and Barkis had nodded his approval. She tried hard to contain her growing horror at the idea of being alone with him, miles away from anyone who would know or care for her.
"It's settled then", Finis exclaimed contentedly. "You may have the use of our cottage for the rest of the winter into fall. By then, you should be in the possession of a proper home, correct?"
"Don't fret, dearest father-in-law," Barkis said with a charming smile, "I'll make sure that your daughter is WELL cared for." He wrapped his arm around Victoria's shoulders and patted her slightly. She shuddered again. He just grinned wider.
Maudeline spoke up. "How soon before we can expect grandchildren, Lord Barkis?" Victoria stiffened, eyes wide. Children? CHILDREN? With…with HIM, of all people! Had they gone MAD!
Barkis's smiled waned slightly, but he quickly recovered it. "R-Rest assured, it will be within the year. Right, darling?" he said as he grazed her cheek with his lips. Victoria didn't acknowledge the gesture, her mind on other things. She had heard somewhat concerning the duties of man and wife, as her father had tried to educate her on the subject (her mother had interrupted mid-way, and the heated debate had raged on into the night). However, she hadn't the foggiest idea what she was supposed to do, how it would feel, or how in the world it was supposed to be enjoyable. The mere thought of doing such a thing, yielding herself in THAT way to Barkis…Victoria choked back the urge to vomit.
Finis knew nothing of his daughter's displeasure, and grinned. "Excellent! You have our permission to go." He snapped his fingers. "Hildegarde, help prepare Victoria's things for the journey. The coach will arrive at any moment." Finis turned to Victoria, whose face had gone completely white. "Victoria dear, run along and get dressed. You'll have plenty of time alone with your husband once you get to the cottage."
She nodded slightly, and made her way up the stairs after her handmaiden. Barkis's eyes never left her. "Well I will say one good thing about her", he said to himself.
"She is VERY obedient…"
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From the very moment she had set foot in this room for the first time, Victoria had loved it. It was warmer, more inviting than the rest of the mansion, and as a young 12-year-old girl, Victoria had been mildly frightened by the long corridors and gloomy shadows. It had been her sanctuary; her castle and her little slice of happiness in the long years of dull lessons and strict rules. Looking at it now, as she stood in the doorway, Victoria could not contain her tears and broke down, clinging to the doorframe. Her childhood was all here; China dolls sat on the mantle of the fireplace, smiling their comforting painted smiles down at her. She had met and fell in love with Victor in this room, and had come very close to her first kiss. She could still see him, sitting across from her on her favorite velvet cushion, face close to hers…
Hildegarde looked up from a rather large suitcase. "Miss Victoria? Are you alright dearie?" When she shook her head no, Hildegarde walked over and gently cradled the sobbing lady in her lap like a child. "There, there, it's alright dear."
"N-No it's not…" Victoria said between sobs. Wiping away some of her tears, she looked up at her beloved servant. "He's not my love…I don't LOVE him, Hildegarde! I never did, and I never will! The-The only man I ever loved is DEAD!" She clung tighter to the old woman.
Hildegarde smiled sadly as she lifted Victoria's chin to look at her. "Dearie, it isn't easy to lose a loved one so soon. Trust me…" A slightly pained expression crossed her wrinkled face. "Trust me, dear…I know…"
Victoria stopped crying, and stared at her. "What happened?"
The old lady laughed slightly and smoothed a few loose strands of hair on Victoria's head. "I wasn't much older than you when I was to be married…He was a carpenter, and we fell madly in love with each other…" She wiped away a tear. "We weren't married a year before he had an accident in the shop…Chopped his hand clean off, I'll never forget the screaming." Hildegarde turned away. "There was nothing to be done for him. By the time the doctor arrived, it---it was too late…"
Victoria gently hugged her. "Oh Hildegarde, I had no idea…" For a while, they sat there silently, both mourning their own losses. Eventually, a thought crossed Victoria's mind. "What do you think happens to you when you die?"
Hildegarde thought about it. "I've always assumed that the good lord brought the righteous into heaven and freed them of all pain." She looked to the younger lady. "What do you think?"
"I---I'm not sure…" Victoria furrowed her brow. "I think that the good would be allowed to stay with their loved ones and watch over them for the rest of their lives, and be there to bring them home when they die…" She looked at the ceiling. "At least…that's what I HOPE happens…."
"Makes it easier to bear Victor's passing?" Hildegarde said, smiling. Victoria nodded, and Hildegarde helped her to her feet. "Well, I'm sure that wherever he is, he's watching you, dearie." She smiled, and turned back to the suitcase. Sighing, she turned to Victoria. "What do you say we finish packing? Don't want to keep your husband waiting…"
Victoria sighed. "No…that—that sounds good…" She had almost forgotten about Barkis and the trip to the cottage. She picked up a few of her winter dresses and laid them carefully in the suitcase. In a few short hours, she'd be all alone with that man…
Victor, help me cope…
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The trip was, as Victoria had suspected, very long and uncomfortable, as both people sat in utter silence the entire way there. Barkis from time to time would look over at her and smile slightly, as if plotting something, and Victoria would hastily avert her eyes. Thankfully, the scenery was lovely. The cottage was in the middle of a beautiful wood in the countryside, and all the trees out here were covered in snow and icicles that made them shimmer in the late afternoon sunlight. The cottage itself was moderately sized, covered in vines and ivy, and held a garden patch on the western wall. If it had been spring or summer, Victoria thought, I would very much enjoy gardening out here. All in all, it was a marvelous little spot, and for a while Victoria forgot all about how frightening it was to be alone with Barkis. She went through each of the rooms, tidying up and making each look perfect, so much so that even Barkis took notice.
"Well! You sure seem to be a natural at keeping house, Victoria" he said, mildly impressed. She was taken aback for a second. He had actually given her a compliment! A real, genuine compliment! She had blushed in spite of herself, mumbled a quick "Thank you very much", and had turned back to what she had been doing. She didn't dare turn around again until she could no longer feel his eyes on her. He'd been staring at her a lot lately…
Over the course of their first week together, Victoria's opinion of Barkis changed ever so slightly. He had once appeared to be a heartless money-grubber, brash and uncouth with no manners to speak of. Living with him, though, had shown Victoria one very important thing.
He was a heartless money-grubber who was absolutely helpless on his own.
Honestly, how had he survived so long without a woman to watch him? He couldn't do his own laundry, he had to be SHOWN how to make a bed, and had no sense of how a household was supposed to run. She found herself getting mildly annoyed at him, and he was shocked to find out that she expected him to pick up after himself. Victoria was surprised at how often he would call for her help on the simplest of tasks (or at least, simple to HER). They spent a lot of time together like that, she slowly showing him how to do some of the household chores step by step, and he watching her intently. In spite of her, Victoria found herself encouraging him a lot, and even felt happy for him when he would get it right.
It turned out he had a lot to show her as well. Victoria had always been afraid of insects of any kind, screaming and running away at the very first sign of a spider or a worm. As the woods were cold and the cottage was warm, whatever bugs were left flocked to it. One day, as she was preparing their breakfast, a particularly large spider crossed the counter. Victoria had screamed and dropped her mixing bowl, darting out of the kitchen and right into Barkis's arms.
"Come now, what's all the racket?" She pointed to the spider, and he had laughed. "It's just a spider, dear. Watch…." He grabbed a wooden spoon and whacked it on the counter, successfully smashing the spider. He grinned in triumph and looked at her again. "There, see? That's how you deal with insignificant insects, my dear…" He walked over to her and stroked her hair. She shivered slightly at his touch. "You wipe them out, quickly and effectively. They're so much smaller than you, they should be afraid of YOU…"
Victoria could only nod and fake a smile. From then on, despite her disgust, she became very good at getting rid of all insects. And Barkis would always watch, eyes gleaming. It had disturbed her at first, how much joy he got from the death of the bugs, but eventually it ceased to bother her, and she even began to enjoy it herself. Not exactly ENJOY it, but at least it kept the insects out of her kitchen…
She wasn't sure when it had started, but an uneasy respect had begun to form between her and Barkis. He no longer tried to touch her when she didn't want it, and she had started treating him more as a husband and less like a man she hardly knew. In the back of her mind, Victoria could still feel that something was wrong with him, and it kept her from ever accepting his advances (which were few and far between now). Sighing, she stretched and stood up from the couch in the living room. As she made her way up the stairs, she heard Barkis call up after her, "Going to bed?"
She nodded. "Yes, I'm very tired." She smiled slightly at him. "I'll…I'll see you in the morning."
He nodded, and stared at her longingly. "Right…. good night."
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A thunderclap woke her up.
Victoria reached shakily for her bedside lamp and quickly lit it. A thunderstorm? In the middle of winter? Quickly putting her slippers on, she peered out the window. The rain was coming down fast, pelting the window as lighting flashed across the sky. Gasping a little, she turned away from the window and sat down on the bed again. Oh, how she hated thunderstorms! A particularly loud CCCRRACK! made her scream and dive under the covers. She hardly heard someone knock at her door.
"Victoria? I heard a scream, are you alright?"
She peeked out and sighed with relief. "Oh…. Barkis, it's only you…" In the lamplight, his face seemed eerie and shrouded in shadows, almost ghost-like. She shivered. "Y-Yes, I'm fine." Victoria smiled nervously. "No need to worry about me."
"But I MUST", Barkis walked over to her bed slowly and placed his lamp next to hers. He smiled at her hungrily, and her eyes widened. That look…it was that look again…almost as if she were prey to him… He lifted her chin and stared deeply into her eyes. "I'm your husband after all…" He leaned in to kiss her.
She pulled away. "Barkis, please…I'm—I'd really like to get back to sleep…"
He just grinned wider and forced her down onto the bed. "Victoria, I just want to make you feel better…" He kissed her neck. "Don't you want that?" Feeling her jump at his actions, he laughed quietly and kissed her again. "You DO, don't you?"
Victoria struggled to get free. "B-Barkis p-please, stop!" She tried to push him off, but he pinned her arms down on either side of her. She gasped in pain as he crushed her hands under his weight. "Barkis, PLEASE! Y-You're HURTING me!" Her pleas only seemed to excite him, as he worked his way down her collarbone. She became aware of his hands beginning to undo her corset, and she shrieked. "STOP!"
She was met with a swift smack to the face. "How DARE you speak against me!" Lightning flashed outside, illuminating his face and twisting it beyond recognition. His eyes blazed with an inhuman fire, the passion and thrill of the hunt. He had hunted her for so long…and now, now he had finally caught her. Victoria gaped, horrified, at the monster that held her captive. "You are my wife, and I COMMAND obedience!" He grunted as he tore the offending corset off, exposing her nakedness. Drunk with power, he launched himself on top of her, goaded on by Victoria's sobs and cries of pain. As the storm reached its climax, the only sounds heard were the crashes of thunder and the animalistic cries of the beast and its spoils, hearts pounding wildly as the ritual became more frantic. A shriek of indescribable pain was lost in the storm's most brilliant flash, as red stained the sheets and the rain came down in torrents.
It seemed an eternity before it ended. Victoria opened her groggy and reddened eyes to find morning waiting for her.
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A/N: I gotta say, this is without a doubt the LONGEST chapter I've ever written for a story EVER. Heh, I'm all proud. Oh, and this was way more fun than it should've been. YAY! Critiques, plzkthx.
