Ah, new chapter. This one's even longer, yay!! I like this one, but I have a feeling there's lots of mistakes, since I wrote it all in one go. Tell me if you see any.


Waking up once again from an uneasy nap, I decide to kick my butt into gear. Come on Bella! I say to myself, You're not the type to just sit around being depressed…Do something!

That's right! I'm not some damsel in distress. No one's coming to rescue me, so I need to find a way out of this by myself!

Looking about the room, there are countless chests, bureaus, and drawers that are just begging to be opened. It's a long shot, but perhaps there will be something useful hidden inside one of them.

Hastily, I rip the room apart, yanking drawers off their rollers, systematically tugging various articles of clothing and jewelry then letting them fall, unceremoniously, to the ground. A woman must have stayed in this room before, since everywhere I look I find crisp, silk dresses and elaborate trinkets. One ring, which I carefully place on top a dresser to save for further examination, is solid platinum and embedded with a sapphire roughly the size of an egg. After a few more minutes of searching, I unearth a matching necklace, bracelet, and pair of earrings.

Even in my frenzy, I can't ignore how beautiful they are. It would be nice to escape and take these with me. They must be worth a fortune! But, I don't think I could ever sell something so perfect. The flawless, deep blue sapphires wink at me, catching the light perfectly.

Tearing my gaze away from these wonders, I continue to rummage through the room. So many expensive things, it's unbelievable! I never knew a person could own this many rich things, much less leave them in a captive's cell, where they can be discovered so easily.

The drawers empty and laid bare, I turn my attention to the walk-in closet, partially hidden by an enormous Greek vase. Inside, more fantastic garments await: evening gowns, ball dresses, long jackets, skirts, an enormous assortment of, a bit wild, but fantastic hats, numerous pairs of shoes (though all looked a bit uncomfortable and old fashioned), and every other type of clothing you could imagine. Even the most casual things are finer then the nicest clothes I have back at home. One dress especially catches my eye. It's dyed a deep blue, nearly the exact same color as the stones. In fact, countless sapphires are actually woven with silver thread into the bodice and the bottom hem of the dress. Because of this, it sparkles magnificently, shimmering like sun rays reflecting off the sea.

I finger the silk cloth lovingly, imagining the magnificent woman who must have worn it in the past. I try to picture myself in it, but it's impossible. The sheer straps and elegantly plunging back would never fit a plain girl from the Forks.

I wrench my eyes away from the mesmerizing garment and step out of the closet. I can't help but laugh. The room's a disaster! There are so many amazing things all around, but nothing that can really help me.

I wonder who the woman was that inhabited this room before me. Most of the dresses, including the sapphire one, are old fashioned. I'm sure what era they're from, but definitely before the 20's. There's no pictures or diaries, not even a hint of who she could have been.

My thoughts are interrupted by the loud clunk of the door unbolting. I freeze, as the door squeaks shrilly and begins to move inward.

It's opening! Someone's coming in!

It swings open slowly, revealing a young-looking vampire (he must have been only around 14 when he was turned) with a curly mop of strawberry blond hair. He looks down at me dubiously, hands on his slim hips, surveying the destruction, and whistles, "Wow, you've been busy in here."

Oh god, oh no what possessed me to mess up the room? He's going to be so angry I should have thought this through!

My fear must be evident on my face, because the boy's brow knits together in concern.

"Hey, calm down, it's okay." He laughs heartily, "Anyways, I know the guy who's going to have to clean it up, and I don't mind at all"

He smiles impishly, waggling his fair eyebrows comically. Hesitantly, I return the smile, strangely comforted by his jovial attitude. But, when he takes a step toward me, I automatically jump back, tripping on a gold necklace and falling on to the bed.

The vampire grimaces sympathetically, and rubs the back of his head, "You just sit there for a sec, let yourself calm down, I can wait." He winks and turns his back to me, loudly humming an indecipherable tune.

I'm confused and surprised by this guy. Definitely, not the type of captor I had expected to meet. Sitting up, I examine him from behind. He has a long, skinny body—the string bean look of a boy in the midst of puberty. He's fairly tall, but has only a few inches on me. I try to remember what my original attacker looked like.

"You…" I ask hesitantly, in barely a whisper, "Were you the one…?"

I trail off. Not turning around the boy replies, "Nope, you've got the wrong vampire. I'm just the lowly, little subordinate of the one you met in the forest."

"Oh." So that means that I have more than one vampire to deal with, potentially, there could be a whole coven of them in this god forsaken place.

As if reading my thoughts he calls out, "There are only two more of us here that you haven't met. 4 all together, I guess you can say. The fantastic four!"

"Hm." Captivating response, I know, but it's hard to be interesting when you're scared out of your wits.

Silence fills the room again, as I process this new information. The boy fidgets, moving his weight from to foot to foot, then finally spins around.

"All right, I'm sick of waiting."

Strollin forward, deftly dodging the debris on the floor, he sits down on the bed. Leaning forward, he looks up at me through his thick eyelashes. Strangely enough, my fear dissipates. Instead, I count the various freckles on his pale skin.

"All better?" He queries, teasingly, like speaking to a child.

I nod in response, oddly comforted. Something, something about his presence leaves little room for trepidation—his light-hearted air. Or, it could have been that strange, ethereal beauty that every vampire possesses, lulling me into compliance.

"Good!" He bellows, seizing my wrist, "Then we should get going!"

"Where?"

He slams the door behind us, maintaining his firm grip, guiding me down flights of darkly lit stairs.

"Well, it's time to meet the head honcho. You know, the boss man."

"The one who bit me" I reply, dully.

"Eh? Bit you? Nah, he didn't do that."

I try to stop, but it's impossible. The grip on my wrist is verging on painful, but I don't think he realizes it, "Yes, I remember it. He bit me in the forest then I blacked out."

The boy peeks over his shoulder, incredulous, "You must have been hallucinating, wouldn't you be a vampire now then?"

I chew on my lip. Something nags at the back of my head. A reason, a response that would justify what I believe happened, but I can't think of anything to say. Instead, I try to pry more information from him.

"Why is he keeping me here?"

"You're very rude, you know."

"What?"

"You haven't even asked my name yet."

I laugh, "Well, you haven't asked mine either. It's Bella."

He grins again as we reach the end of the stairs. Once we're at the bottom, he releases my wrist and bows melodramatically, "Nice to meet you Bella, you can call me Sean." When he straightens back up, I get another good look at his eyes—Red, just like his

I can't forget. Even though this guy seems nice, even though he seems good, those eyes don't lie. He's not like one of the Cullens

He seizes my wrist again, "All right, no time to waste. He'll be pissed if we leave him waiting too long."

I spend the rest of the walk in silence, but Sean continues chatting away obliviously. Randomly pointing out a piece of art on the wall, or a statue, he makes up some completely ridiculous fact about it.

"This one," He says, pointing to a Renaissance era painting of the Virgin Mary, "This one was painted by the famous artist, Ballino, who painted the entire thing using a paintbrush that he stuck in his ear."

And so on. I tune him out, looking down at the floor, hopelessness slowly drifting back into my psyche. Like a rag doll, I'm controlled so easily by these supernatural beings. I can only hope that the man I'm about to meet is similar to Sean. Hopefully, he can get whatever he needs from me, and let me go. I pray to God that he issn't just waiting to drink my blood.

"Almost there!" Sean calls gleefully, now skipping happily, "His name's Louis, by the way, I'm not sure if I told you that."

Finally, we stop in front of an imposing black door.

"Well, this is where I leave," He says, gesturing to the door, "You just go on inside."

For some reason, my upper lip begins to tremble, "Sean… is he going to hurt me?"

Sean's expression doesn't change. Smiling, smiling, smiling, he doesn't reply, simply pushing me closer to the door. I search his eyes one more time, scarlet depths revealing nothing, then I twist the doorknob.

"Come in and shut the door."

Oh, that voice, that thrilling voice. I step inside, into the cold, dark chambers.


Louis is pronounced "Louie" because it's French :P. I know, it's like Interview with a Vampire, but he's not based on him! It's a very common French name, and I like it. Also, I know I'm totally cheap. I really planned on having her meet him this chapter, but it ended up taking longer than I thought. Still, the confrontation scene is going to be interesting.

Sean may seem nice, but he's also a little creepy, right? And who arethe other vampires in the mansion? What does Louis want with Bella anyways? Who's clothes are in Bella's room? All to be revealed soon!