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CHAPTER 5
Valentine looked around the dank catacombs under Spoon Island where he had been hiding since finding out where Natasha was. He smirked at the irony that after so many years of Stefan refusing to give up Natasha's location, in his haste to protect her, he had led him right to her. A little cottage in the outskirts of Port Charles where no one would be the wiser as to what he intended to do.
The people around her were now on alert and had closed ranks around her. They had surrounded her with protection trying to keep him away from her. It amused him how naive they were thinking they could keep him away. It had been too many years and now it was time to take what was rightfully his and this time there would be no Mikkos to save her.
He remember the day Mikkos had finally claimed him, not as his son, but as an obligation to be taken care of. Valentine was Mikkos whore's son, a woman Mikkos had met on a drunken night, paid for her services and left the next day never claiming the son they had created. His mother continued to work at as prostitute and had died when one of the johns she was with had gotten rough, breaking her neck when he knocked her against the wall.
The funeral had been a sad affair with only Valentine in attendance as he had no where as to go. Valentine had been sitting alone in the funeral parlor, his mother's ashes on the alter, when Mikkos had walked in. Mikkos had not said much only that Valentine would be coming with him to Cassadine Island.
His mother had told him through the years, usually when she was drunk or high, that his father was Mikkos Cassadine but Valentine had never believed her. Now looking at the dark figure before him he felt anger that he had been forced to live a life of poverty and despair when his father was such a powerful, rich man. His shame grew as the memories of all the time he had to fend for himself looking for scraps of food or wear ratty clothes to keep warm. He was happy to be going with Mikkos but his anger overwhelmed him as the thought that as a Cassadine male he never should have had a need for any of life's pleasures and that now that Mikkos was claiming him he would never have to be without again.
Upon arriving on Cassadine Island he had immediately been introduced to Helena and Stavros as Mikkos nephew. Valentine once again felt shame, which immediately turned to anger at Mikkos's reluctance to claim him as his son. All of his fantasies, of what his life would be now as Mikkos son, vanished in that moment when Mikkos denied him. Moments after Helena and Stavros left in a disgusted huff, Stefan and Natasha had been brought in to meet Valentine. While Stefan had been pushed forward Mikkos had held on to Natasha's small hand. While Stefan stared at him, Valentine had watched as Mikkos smiled at the little girl who in turn gave him a shy smile of her own. It was a side of Mikkos he had not seen even with his two sons or wife and his behavior towards Natasha intrigued him. When they heard Helena's footsteps coming down the hall Mikkos gave Natasha a final hug and turned her towards Stefan. Mikkos had not stayed long and left that night. He had not even bothered to say goodbye to Valentine.
Mikkos never stayed on the Island for very long but when he did he would never ask to see Valentine. He would always have time for Stavros, Stefan and Helena, and occasionally he would sneak a visit with Natasha but he would never seek Valentine out.
Valentine, having learned from his mother that secrets were power, would sneak around the island trying to learn as much as possible about all the people who lived in the Cassadine castle. He soon learned that Mikkos was never without a lover, Helena and Stavros were inseparable and that Natasha and Stefan looked out for each other. One of the biggest secrets he came across was a secret that only a handful of people knew. Natasha Cassadine was the daughter of Mikkos Cassadine and Ingrid Bergmann. His anger and jealousy become hot with rage as he remembered the Mikkos's attempts to bond with Natasha, his bastard daughter, but made no attempts to bond with him his bastard son.
The fact that Natasha was also Mikkos's bastard child fascinated him especially since Mikkos loved the child but refused to recognize her as his own. As Valentine started keeping closers tabs on her he became intrigued by the way the others in the family reacted to her presence. Mikkos, the distant father, haunted by the child he loved and unable to claim as his own. Helena, the cheated on wife, jealous of the bastard child of the only women Mikkos had ever truly loved. Stavros, the psychotic son, who tried to hide his sexual interest in what he thought was his young cousin whom he protested to detest, and then there was Stefan, the insignificant second son, who experienced what love was for the first time when Natasha arrived on the island.
He remembered the first time he had gotten the taste for torture. He had been on Cassadine island for a few months and he had been hiding behind the stables watching Stefan and Natasha ride the horses. He noticed as Stavros sneaked up behind Stefan's horse and whipped the animal hard, the horse bucked in pain knocking Stefan down. He then started going after Stefan lashing at him with a horse whip. Stefan fought back as he yelled for Natasha to run. Valentine saw as Natasha ran out of the stables followed by Stavros. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her but Stavros was much bigger and he was able to catch up to her in no time. He had seen the fight in the young girl as she turned and fought him off as best as she could she screamed for Stefan to help her. The blonde boy had limped out of the stables bloody and bruised and had not hesitated as he lunged at Stavros pushing him off the girl and knocking him to the ground where he kicked him twice in the ribs. He had grabbed Natasha by the hand and they had run off into the woods leaving Stavros wreathing in pain.
Valentine had liked the feeling of fear that Stavros had caused in the two young children and he started fantasying about how to recreate that feeling of euphoria that he had experienced when Stavros had gone after Natasha and Stefan. Valentine started small, going after Stefan and Natasha, two kids that no one noticed. In the beginning he started by locking her in dark rooms, pushing her down, taking her food, locking her out of the house, tying her up and leaving her out in the woods. He would whip Stefan with a horse whip he had started carrying around. Stefan, out of fear of what Valentine would do to Natasha, had taken to sleeping in her room and never letting her out of his sight. The stress the two children were under was noticeable as they started losing weight and had perpetual dark circles under their eyes from lack of sleep.
Feeling embolden when he was able to get away with the abuse he heaped on Natasha and Stefan he started going after a harder target. Stavros had fought back at first but eventually would just begged for Valentine to leave him alone. Finally bringing the arrogant prince to submission had made him dizzy with power. He had paid dearly for that feeling when Helena had discovered what he had done to Stavros, but the weeks she kept him locked up in the dungeon had been worth it. Because after that Stavros feared him.
Valentine was not a fool and knew that there was only so much he could do to Stavros, Stefan and Natasha and get away with it. And so he had started to go out into the nearby towns at night. He had started at the taverns and gone after women just like his mother, whores who would do anything and everything for the few pounds of money he would give them. He would leave them in the morning crying and bleeding, grateful to be alive. Soon the urges he had could not be fulfilled by the whores that he bought every night, and he started looking for something more that would satisfy his growing impulses.
It had started by accident, the girl had been walking by the side of the dark road when the car Valentine was driving struck her. He had thought she was dead, and out of fear of what Mikkos would do to him, had put her in the trunk of the car and had taken her down to the catacombs to bury her.
He had started digging her grave when all of sudden she had woken up and started screaming. He had slapped her hard across the face to shut her up and for a second she had been too shocked to do anything but stare at him. Sensing the danger she was in and self- preservation kicking in she had started running trying to get out. Her screams for help echoing in the dark catacombs. Her small legs had been unable to carry her to far before Stavros had reached her. To shut her up he had slammed her head against the wall knocking her unconscious. He had checked her pulse and though it had been thready it was beating. He had kept that little girl for days and she had provided hours of fulfilling fun. A small body like hers had not been able to last very long and so Valentine had started going out on what he called hunting trips. He still went after Stefan and Natasha and his fantasy of doing to Natasha what he did to the other girls was a fantasy that fueled his appetite for more. His ultimate fantasy always revolved around Mikkos little girl and doing to her what he did to those other girls.
He chuckled to himself at all those nubile young girls he had taken against their will. Screaming and fighting him until they surrendered losing all hope until they practically begged him to kill them.
Soon enough Mikkos started hearing rumors of his son's behavior and the number of little girls that had gone missing since Valentine had come to the island. Mikkos became weary of Valentine's activities and started having him followed. Valentine tried to curve his more sadistic tendencies in front of his father but he would go right back to it when Mikkos would eventually leave a few days later.
It had surprised him when Stefan had finally gone to Mikkos for help. Even more surprising had been Mikkos protective stance of the girl. Mikkos stayed on the island after that and Natasha and Stefan were ruled off limits to him. But by then Valentine's psychotic behavior was hard to keep under control.
Valentine smiled coldly as he thought of the moment when Mikkos had finally realized the danger his little Natasha was in. He had initiated his plan by taking Stefan down to the catacombs knowing that no matter the danger Natasha would go after him. He had tied him down bringing out his horse whip, he used it on Stefan every time he refused to tell him where Natasha was hidden. Bloody, cut and bruised was how Natasha had found Stefan when she ran down to the catacombs to find him. He had immediately become aroused at the thought that he was finally going to take what he wanted.
The excitement and arousal he felt at that moment was ingrained in him. To this day, he could still clearly see as she had run in, tears in her big brown eyes, her soft brown hair matted to her skull. Her eyes had immediately made contact with her blonde prince. Stefan began yelling at her to leave, to get away but it had been to late. Valentine had pounced on her from behind, pushing her down onto her back. He had held her arms down as he climb on top of her straddling her and told her obscenely how he would be the only man she ever knew and how she would beg him for more after he was done with her. He had been so intent in his need to have her that he never noticed the dark shadow of Mikkos Cassadine until he felt himself flying backwards, darkness overtaking him as he hit the stone wall.
He woke up to his father's dark eyes blazing in anger, shouting at him for daring to go after her. Valentine refused to listen and tried charging his father as he attempted to help a crying Natasha up, only to be punched by Mikkos again. He hit him hard enough that he was knocked back down to the ground. Mikkos's shouting finally drew the attention of two guards, who ran in and dragged him away kicking and screaming.
He had always wondered what Mikkos had thought when he found the decomposing bodies of all those missing little girls and what he had done to hide it from the town. He had never mentioned it to him but he knew he had found them by the way he looked at him every time Valentine ran away from the boarding school and returned to the island.
Mikkos, realizing how disturbed Valentine was, had done everything in his power to keep Natasha safe. He had sent him away to boarding school with Mikkos own person security making sure he stayed away from the island. Mikkos's desire to keep Natasha safe only fueled Valentine's obsession for Natasha. He had felt such a feeling of arousal how enraged Mikkos would be when he learned that Valentine had taken Natasha. He had tried to replicate the feeling he had experienced time and time again always choosing girls that were Natasha's age, height and build with her big brown eyes but every time it was disappointing.
He had escaped his father's security time and time again making his way back to the island looking for her until he left Mikkos no choice but to send Natasha away and hide her. To guarantee her safety he decided to lock Valentine in one of his cryogenic stasis chamber forever frozen in time.
Valentine now knew that he had been imprisoned for decades and he had only managed to escaped when Helena had tried to save her son from his frozen captivity. Somehow, unbeknownst to them, they had released him. It had taken him years to set his plan in motion. He had to have physical therapy to get back into good physical shape and actually find her. Now, years later Valentine patience was finally paying off. He had learned that Mikkos had given her a new identity 'Alexis Davidovitch, now Davis". Now once again she was within his reach and this time there would be no one to stop him from taking her.
Author's Notes*** I struggled to portray how sick and dangerous Valentine's obsession with Alexis is. Please let me know if I succeeded.******