A Black Destiny (Chapter 2)

The night air made no stir upon his resurrected form,1

standing stoney still upon the hill in the old cemetary.2

A shuddering breath fought to leak it's way into her aching lungs,3

her terrified sobs racking her frail temple.4

His hands, so pale and smooth,5

wrapped around her wrists though she tried to shy away,6

his flesh drawing all the heat from hers with his frigid corpsic grip.7

His eyes, 8

catlike and demonic,9

gleamed in the night.10

They seemed to...glow.11

Maharani trembled in fear, 12

her body going rigid as he pulled her to her feet.13

Her eyes traveled the planes of his black cape,14

his black tunic and breeches giving him the look of an eighteenth century lord.15

His black hair fell in tendrils to his shoulders, framing his pale face. 16

His pale pink lips were curled slightly,17

revealing deadly points,18

wickedly curved and sharp inside his mouth.19

Despite her fear he was a beautiful creature.20

As his face neared hers, 21

her fear evaporated,22

and became something less predictable.23

It became wonder,24

curiousity.25

He bent forward at the waist,26

hanging her over backward in his suprisingly strong arms,27

lithe body hovering over hers. 28

His lips neared her bared neck and as she understood her fate,29

She met it.30

Those deadly scythes inside his mouth tore fiercely through her flesh. She felt her life slowly dragging from her body.31

Barely hanging on to her own exhistance,32

she became aware of a coppery,33

heavy taste.34

The most wonderful feeling of numbness and satisfaction wrapping her entire corpse.35

Corpse.36

Slowly, her eyes flutter open. The cemetary's gone, and she's layed up in a four poster bed, the canopy draped with heavy, crimson velvet. The same material surrounds the outside edge of the bed, the curtains pulled shut so all she can see is the place where she is lying. Her head is throbbing, and her hair has been let down from it's intricately placed ringlets, now falling haphazardly about her shoulders. Her gown had been removed from her body, and she lay in the bed in a small satin slip, a sleeveless tunic that flowed over her curves and did not end until it reached the tops of her feet. It was the strangest slip She'd ever seen. 37

Never in her life had she ever seen a black slip with crimson ribbons lacing up the front corsette. It was oddly beautiful, but it left her feeling nude and vulnerable. She decided she looked altogether too provacative. Sitting up carefully,Maharani reached out and threw back the curtains. As she swung her feet out from under the red and gold silk bed linens, she noticed how dark her surroundings are. The walls were a deep tarnished Gold color which reflected the flickering candle light gently. There were only four lamp stands of candles, each with four tiers of black candles burning softly at each of the rooms four corners. A Crimson and gold velvet day bed lay in a semi-circular alcove at the farside of the room across from the foot of the bed she then sat in. To the bed's left was the door, a black metal door, bolted tightly shut. As her feet hit the floor,Maharani shivered. The floor was completely made of glossy black stone. Over to rhe right of the bed was an armoire. It was the height of the wall it stood against, reaching ceiling to floor. It was black and trimmed in gold with crimson jewels encrusted into it's gold handles. As her head began to clear she realized she was hearing the strangest noise. It was a bubbly, gurgling noise, like a brook, or some sort of flowing water...38

On the right of the bed, right beside the door was a pool of bubbling, steaming water sunken right into the floor. The pool was lit from beneath the water! Maharani's heart began to race as she immediately allowed her mind to jump to thoughts of sorcery or witchcraft. The stone floor dipped at the edge of this pool, a stone basin really. It was about eight feet in width, and about ten feet long. As she realized how enormous this bubbling basin really was, she also realized how gigantic the room it self was. Beeing so dark, and also lacking windows of any sort, the room didn't strike one as being the massive space it was. 39

she glanced around again, memorizing my surroundings. There was a black silk dress layed out across the daybed, the petticoats to match were neatly layed beside it, a mix of gold and crimson red material. There was also a pair of black velvet slippers at the daybed's foot, golden trim running along the opening her foot would slip in. 40

She reached up and ran her fingers over her neck. No marks or bites. It had been a dream. Just then, that voice she'd heard before, a voice that turned her insides cold spoke softly from the corner near the armoire. "That was a rather nasty fall you took. You're lucky I was there writing in that cemetary or you'd have been in a dreadful amount of danger Ms..." She stood up, reeling to face him full on. Her head reeled, and she collapsed against the post at the end of the bed in agony, clutching her skull. The tall, lean man lunged toward her. "Come sit in the water, you'll feel much better." He murmured in her ear. She realized that she must have been only half dreaming when this man had found her in the cemetary. He was trying to help her.41

"Thank you." She said gently. He helped her over to the bubbling water. "What lights that?" she asked, hesitating as he picked her up, letting her slip into the water, her feet hitting stone while the water was only to my ankles, his hands catching the slip and hoisting it to my knees so as not to get it wet. 42

"It's minerals. That water comes straight from a natural spring that flows beneath this manor. I had a well dug so the water will come up through the floor, and we discovered the minerals that the water contacts and mixes with on the way up cause it to glow, but all of that sediment settles at the bottom, so it looks as if only the floor of this pool is lit." He smiled, his lips thin and tight together. "Interesting addition, really." He murmured. Maharani sank comfortably down into the water, his hands pulling the slip over her head gently as she did. " I took the liberty of setting you up in this room. Anything you want, just ask and I'll have a servant bring it the moment it's possible." The stranger murmured. His eyes were still an incredible Amber yellow. That had not been her imagination. 43

"Wait, I... How will I get home?" she asked. He smiled at her gently.44

"You won't be leaving anytime soon, you need to recover. Any kind of journey right now is a hazard to you."45