Soooo. In the last chapter, f you were paying attention, I made an inference to where this story might be going.

If you didn't find it, you best go back and look, because I may do something that is totally crazy.

But I think It'd make the story more dramatic.

Or not.

I'll just have to see.

If you think you have an idea of what I am cooking up, please, let me know!

I would like to know what you think about it. :)

Let's see if any of you are smart enough to figure it outttt!

LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!

Disclaimer: Whatever.

It was often that Esther woke plagued with strange dreams.

Dreams like nightmares, but not.

Dreams like something she couldn't fully grasp, no matter how much she reached.

It was like something she had forgotten, yet didn't know in the first place.

The red-head sat up carefully, violet eyes fluttering open, squinting against the soft light that leaked from a near dead candle. Pale arms reached for the heavens in a gigantic stretch of the limbs, and she yawned.

Wincing, she rubbed her back, and wrapped the blankets around herself, standing. She was sore.

Her eyes caught sight of the man who slept lazily on the other side of the bed, and a deep sigh pushed itself past her lips.

Was this what she had wanted?

No.

She answered herself before she even got through asking the question. But her slight jealousy had made her make quick decisions.

Her slender form bent down and gathered her garments, which were scattered in a trail from the door. When that was done, she glanced back to the sleeping man, forgetting what his name was, before opening the door and peeking out the hall.

Empty. Good.

She shut the door quietly behind her and crept down the hall, slightly embarrassed. Why she hadn't gotten dressed before she left was beyond her. Again, in her rush, she was not logical.

When she made it back to Julian's room, she stopped before the door, thinking.

What if those repulsive women were still inside?

Wouldn't that just be the perfect addition to an already embarrassing morning? She thought, a flush rising from her chest.

But better that than standing in the hall, naked beneath a blanket, where anyone could see. She took a deep breath, slowly turned the knob, and pushed the door open. Gently, she stepped inside, and closed the door quietly. Glancing around the room, relief washed over her. Nobody occupied Julian's bed. She was about to question where he was, but that could wait until she showered.

She wandered over to the dresser, pulling out fresh clothes, and dropped her dirty ones in the basket set next to the door.

She was in and out of the shower in a flash, fully awoken by the steaming waters, and dressed. The clothes Julian had gotten her were absolutely beautiful. Her small hands ran over the emerald dress, short, tight, bowing out at the bottom, with soft, silky material. It looked expensive.

She ran her hands through freshly washed red locks, glancing to a mirror at the still slightly unfamiliar girl who looked back. The mirror was mounted above a mahogany bureau, on top of which was a small maroon make-up bag. Esther walked over to the bureau and sat down, dumping the bag's contents onto the surface. She decided to put on more than she usually would, to let Julian know what he left at the party last night.

It wasn't wise to be jealous, but she was all the same. Esther wanted Julian as her own. She knew she could by any means ever claim him, but she still wanted to lock him in a box and hide him away, somewhere only she could find him.

When she decided she looked better than any whore that threw herself at Julian, (a distant thought: since when do I think like this?) she stood, zipped up the bag, and stuffed it in one of many drawers.

A realization dawned on her: If she was going to go look for him, she had no clue where to start. Perhaps the banquet hall? Or maybe he was away on business? Did he go away on business? She sighed in frustration, tapping her foot as she thought, and finally made a decision. It was only logical to check the places she knew first. Then she could wander around like a lost puppy.

So maybe wandering around at all was a ad idea. It seemed like hours Esther had roamed the endless halls of Julian's labyrinth and had no luck finding anything. Every hall looked the same. Even the numbers on the doors looked like they were repeating themselves. Last night, the way to the banquet hall seemed clear enough. She was almost certain she could get there again. But now, everything seemed to e jumbled together, almost as if the halls were moving.

The thought gave her the creeps. She hurried down another hall, which looked the same, again, and searched for Julian's room. Maybe he had gone back while she was out looking for him? But now she couldn't even find her way there. A string of colorful curses soon found there way out of her mouth, and eventually, she threw her arms up in frustration and plopped down on the cool marble floor.

This entire building gave her the creeps. Occasional, distant cries of despair echoed off the walls, and the silence that followed was just as bad. She didn't even want to knock on one of the doors to get some direction, because she didn't want to know what was behind them. Creepy, creepy, creepy creeps...

Finally, she jumped up, frustrated, and scared, and annoyed, and suddenly tired. "Why can't I find my way out of here?!" She kicked a wall, making it shudder, and a small portrait of an unknown face nearly fall.

"These halls are designed to keep you in."

She nearly jumped out of her skin, and whirled around to the source of the sound.

It was one of Julian's friends. Hands behind his back, face shadowed by a hat that angled over his face as he looked down to the floor.

"Excuse me?" Her voice quivered with slight fear, and she hated it. Vulnerable, like a mouse to a cat.

"It is impossible to find your way, if you aren't meant to. Come with me."

Before she could say anything, he turned around, and strode off in another direction. She scrambled to follow him, definitely not wanting to be lost any more.

But what he had said gave her the chills. "..if you aren't meant to." What was that supposed to mean? She groaned in annoyance at her lack of memory, wondering what it would have meant to her before the "accident".

Esther swore she already tried going this way, but this man led her down several halls, before things started to look familiar.

"Julian is waiting for you down this hall. The time is exactly 9:30 AM. Breakfast also awaits you." Her stomach grumbled, right on cue. She blushed. "Thank you."

"Any time." He bowed, and simply vanished.

She blinked several times, looking around herself carefully. That definitely went down as really creepy. She nearly ran down the hallway, to the end, where she pushed through a door and found herself amidst a room full of loud, obnoxious Methuselah. Again.

But at least now she knew where she was, and wasn't so frightened. Although, these vampires gave her a different type of fright.

She looked around for Julian, and found him seated at the same chair as before. He met her eyes intensely, and everything else around her seemed to fade into a small buzz of talk and movement. It was amazing, the effect he had on her. The statued effervescence in his eyes dazzled her, and she smiled despite her fear, which fell from her in waves.

He made everything better, and he always would.

This may have been a strange chapter, but it was by no means pointless.

I'm brewing something good, and now I can finally finish this, since I'm on vacation finally. :)

Again, if you have any idea what I'm doing, let me know.

Because it's going to be a shocker.

MAYBE! If I like the idea.

I'll write a sample chapter with the new idea, and if I like it, it might make it's way here.

REVIEWS FTW! :D