3/8/10

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ROSE RED, ITS CONCEPT, ITS IDEAS, ITS LOGOS NOR ITS CHARACTERS. THEY BELONG TO STEPHEN KING. THANK YOU.

....

I opened my eyes to see that I was in one of the bedroom. I paused, looking back towards the wall in which the panel slid closed, before turning around and crossing to the door. Pulling it open, I stepped out into the hallway. After my brief chat with Ellen, I had been endowed with the knowledge of Rose Red's house plans. I knew exactly how the house was laid out. So I knew where to turn and where to press on the walls leading to the passages that went all the way from the Garden to the Tower, where I had just left.

I turned right and walked down the hallway, my eyes concentrating on the far end of the room. I wasn't actually seeing anything, but I felt myself walking and I knew where I was headed. It was a strange out-of-body experience, but I ignored it. I was on my way to get Pam. For Ellen, of course. For some reason I was obeying the woman, and it almost scared me.

Turning right away, I walked down the second hall until I came to a door. I pushed it open without so much as hesitating to twist the knob, and came out into the Kitchen. So I had been a passage? It seemed so ... I glanced around the bright room, squinting. I turned back to the door I had just come out of to see that it led to the pantry. Strange.

But I had no time to think of these things, as I had something to accomplish. I walked out of the Kitchen to the Kitchen Hall, walking down it until I came to a set of dark wooden doors. These led out to the Grand Stairs. I glanced back down the hall to see the dim light twinkling along the glass. I could feel the dead vines of the Solarium creep up my arms and around my throat. I could hear the buzzing of bees and the soft murmuring of Sukeena. Then I heard the unintelligible mutter of someone. A man. I knew this to be George Meader. I sighed softly, knowing what had come of the man. Being killed by a supposed bee sting. But I knew it was Sukeena that did it.

I shook my head to clear myself of these thoughts. Thinking these could get me in trouble. I wanted to be on the good idea of Ellen, and thinking bad things of her good friend wouldn't get me there. I walked out of the doors and between the staircases, down the large room and down the Entry Hall. I turned right and headed for the Parlor. Entering through the doors, I saw that everyone was gone. This surprised me. I had felt the presence of them here ... How had I been wrong?

I heard the soft creak of the door which made me shudder. I turned quickly to see someone standing in the doorway, their eyes trained on me.

"Where were you?"

"Why?"

"We want to know."

"Where is everyone?"

"Looking for you."

"Nick -- "

"First you disappear on accident, because you were angry. And now you just leave when you feel like it?"

"If you really cared then you would have followed me -- instead of sending everyone on a wild goose chase."

"If you cared, you wouldn't have left." His reply was cold and quick. I stood in silence. I could hear Ellen speak to me soothingly.

Do not worry, Emily. He does not know, and he does not need to know ... He is just jealous ... Jealous of you, because you can see us ... he wants to, but remember ... the task at hand ... it is not him, I want. Not now, not yet .... Remember ... Pam ... Pamela Asbury ... she is in the --

The woman was cut off as Nick began to speak. "You can at least listen to me, Emily."

I turned my head up, blinking slowly. "They are where?"

"They're in the library." He looked angry. Upset, even. But I could not see the jealousy. He hid it well. He turned and began to walk off, so I followed him. Irritated, he walked in silence, leading me through the Entry Hall to the Grand Staircase and then down the Central Hall East. He turned into the room I knew to be the Ladies' Library. Men weren't allowed here -- at least not normally. Only when they had the séance with Madame Stravinski (whom hosted it), were the men allowed inside. I stepped in after him, my eyes adjusting to the dark fairly quickly.

Only a few candles were lit, giving the room a soft glow. I crossed over to the table set up in the middle of the room. Everyone was sitting around it in silence. Joyce at the head of the table farthest from me, staring up at me. She smirked, her eyes glinting. I crossed over towards the only empty seat, almost floating over the ground, between Pam and Steve. I sat down, my hands in my laps. I stared across the table at Emery and Cathy. Nick was sitting across from Joyce at the opposite head of the table, closest to the door. We were all silent until Joyce finally spoke up.

"I moved up from the Parlor to the Ladies' Library for a reason."

"To separate us?" I asked, turning my eyes to her. She smiled.

"Of course not. I want us all together."

"Really?"

"Yes ... I'm here because this is where ... " she inhaled deeply, her excitement leaking out onto her face, "this is where Ellen heard Rose Red speak ... This is where the séance happened." She turned her eyes upwards towards the ceiling. I continued to stare at her.

Pam looked over at the woman, "A-Are you going to have a séance? Because, if we are, we aren't well equipped ... " she glanced around the table at every one of us. "I mean, I guess we could try, but -- "

"Oh, no. I don't want to channel Rose Red," Reardon began, laughing softly. "I just want to see what happens ... when we sit here ... "

"Oh? What for? Your experiments?" Emery scoffed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Or are you trying to sacrifice us for your tenure?" His mocking seemed to amuse the woman as she turned to him and grinned.

"Why, Emery, you seem so eager."

"Yeah, right," he snorted. He wasn't a pantywaist, to stand up to that woman. But my thoughts were not on how anyone acted, but what Pam was doing. I glanced over at her from the corner of my eye to see her sit back in her chair and watch Joyce and my brother converse. Soon, she wouldn't be sitting there. She would be along with me, on our way to the Tower. Ellen would be there, expecting out arrival with open arms. And perhaps an open mind, ready to make Pam one of the permanent residents rather than one of the dreaded souls in the hallways.

I turned back to Emery, watching him sneer angrily. I felt something bubble inside of me. Anger? Hate? Did Ellen want Emery out of her house? Surely not stay here forever. No one wanted him, it seemed. I glanced over towards Nick whom was staring unemotionally ahead. Suddenly his blue eyes shifted towards me. His irises caught the candlelight and glowed like some sort of gem stone. His lips were straight, unexpressive -- as was his face. Suddenly his eyes began to narrow, and he turned away. I felt another feeling then. Disappointment.

Do not worry about this, Emily. Men cause nothing but despair and anguish .. you can have anything you want with Sukeena and I ... you will be happy -- you will.

But what if I want him? I thought, upset. I slouched down in my chair, feeling depressed.

Do not think of him! He is not in control. I am. Rose Red is. You will experience life as an immortal ... get me Pam, and then we will discuss the rest ... get Pam to help me build ... and I will get you Nickolas.

My heart began to beat rapidly. If I got Pam then I would have what I wanted. If I helped Ellen, she would help me. Now I was determined to help the woman get what she wanted. I sat up straight, staring forward. I would not see the expressions of anyone as I needed to concentrate. How would I get Pam to leave with me? I needed to do something, so extraordinary, to get her leave this room .. this place ... Perhaps bribe her? No, you couldn't bribe psychics. I stared at the wall behind Emery. It was filled with books coated in dust. How would I get her to follow me? And where would I lead her? Not to the Tower. She would figure it out once I pointed out the passage. A trick of Rose Red, indeed. She would find out. Sooner or later, they all would ..

I heard Ellen tell me that it wasn't important if they find out, because soon we'd all be together anyway. I sighed in relief, feeling calm. I would know how to get Pam to follow me when the time came. The right time, at least. And now, it seemed, was not the right time. I would sit and wait until it was the right time, though. I would wait all night. I would wait until the next morning, and even the day after that. Perhaps years. But I knew that Ellen wouldn't wait that long.

As Joyce began to speak about spirits and paranormal activity, I closed my eyes. I could see Ellen smiling at me. She seemed like a mother to me. A beautiful thirty-four year old, smiling kindly. Her hands, once pale and soft, were now raw and red, covered in her own blood. She had been a carpenter for years, working on the staircase that led to the Tower. Her dark eyes gleamed from the moonlight, her skin appearing milky white. Her hair was black like coal and her teeth seemed like polished stones -- she was, to put it simply, beautiful. Even with the sore skin and blistered palms.

I opened my eyes once I heard Joyce begin her speech on how to read one of her monitors. She then turned to me, her eyes serious. I was silent, turning my head and staring at her.

"What is it?"

I smiled wickedly, the grin spreading across my face. I felt crazy, and probably looked it too. As she opened her mouth and asked what I had seen, one word slipped from my mouth. A word, that was a name and a thing. Something that controlled reactions and emotions. Something so powerful that it seemed almost innocent to speak.

"Nothing," I said, pausing as she knit her eyebrows together in confusion. I added a few words. "I saw Nothing."

.....

A/N: Last sentence originally, "Ellen," I said ..... " I saw Ellen." But I thought 'nothing' fit better. Thank j00. Please read and review! PLEASE!