Chapter 3 - In the woods

I opened my eyes in a dimly lit room with paintings of landscapes and floating lanterns. I tried recalling what happened and all I could remember was…Damien. He was with me.

"This is not my room" I thought aloud and that's when I remembered what happened, partially. All I recalled was that I ate and after eating he touched my face. What'd he do to me? What if he drugged my food, just to get his way with me? I got up, edging towards the door. I twisted the knob and got out. I got to the stairs and I climbed down. I spotted someone on the chair in the living room.

"Hey, can you explain why I passed out?" I asked.

He turned to me and I saw he wasn't Damien.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."

He just stayed quiet looking at me from head to toe, with a smirk on his face. I felt quite uncomfortable as he did that and was about to call him off when he spoke….

"What's your name?" He asked taking his eyes back to my face.

"Uh it's Kelly," I said wondering who he could be. Perhaps Damien's brother.

"Lovely…the name's Julian," he said, looking me up and down again before turning away.

"Do you know Damien?" I asked hoping he did.

"Nope.." he said bluntly.

I walked to stand in front of him.

"Did anyone drop me off here?" I asked

"Maybe. I don't know" He replied.

What if this Julian guy kidnapped me?

"That's the spirit, dude, go get your princess" he said spreading his arms around the chair, his attention on the big screen in front of him. No he couldn't and even if he did, he'd probably be upset that I'm walking around the house.

I decided to look for him myself but he stopped me.

"Damien's my brother,"

Why did he say no earlier. This guy's such as a** .

"Okay, so do you know where he is?"

"Not exactly, but I have the answer to your other question.." he got up and walked towards me.

"I didn't ask any" I said.

"Hmm….of course" he said still looking at me like he was gonna eat me or something.

"I could… you definitely smell tasty enough to be eaten"

"Excuse me?" I said stunned by his blunt flirting. He just shrugged it off and I decided to change the subject.

"What other question?" I asked, but he just chuckled and turned away.

"He's here"

"Who?"

I looked behind me to see Damien standing there, his hands in the pocket of his black coat.

"I thought I told you to leave," Damien said looking at his brother.

"Come on, can't I visit my baby brother?"

"Just leave," Damien said, his eyes glistening with anger.

"Fine…but I'll hang around" he walked away giving me a wink.

I looked at Damien waiting for him to speak but he didn't.

"Care to explain what happened?" I asked and he sighed.

"That's the only way I could bring you here"

"By drugging my food and kidnapping me?" I asked, surprising myself by my sudden outburst.

"Drug your food? Where did you get that idea from?"

"Then how did I black out, you pervert" I began hitting him. What if he did something bad to me?

"I didn't do anything to you"

"Then why did you touch me?" I continued hitting him.

"Stop it" he suddenly shouted, grabbing both my hands tightly and I obeyed immediately feeling intimidated.

"I'm only trying to protect you," he said and I felt a bit calm from his hypnotizing voice.

"From what exactly?" I asked, but he remained silent.

"Forget it, Just take me home" I said but he didn't move an inch.

He let go of my hand and I stormed out of the room, walking towards the main gate.

I opened it and just went out even though I didn't know where I was going. I looked back at where I came from and thought… what if I overreacted? I mean he doesn't look like some perverted guy. I wanted to go back but I'd feel stupid so I just continued walking.

Soon the clouds faded and the dark night came into view. It felt like I had been walking forever and I still hadn't come out of the forest yet. I prayed silently that no wild animals lurked there at night and just tragically, I heard the sound of hoofs hitting the dry leaves on the ground. Maybe they're just horseriders.

"She's here somewhere, I can smell her…Scatter" fear crept up my skin and I held my breath, hoping the "she" they were looking for, isn't me or someone near me. The hoof noises became faint and as my instincts told me to, I ran.

"Over there" a voice said. I gasped as I ran as fast as my feet could carry me. They couldn't possibly be chasing me right? What'd I do? I jumped over a fallen branch and just kept running. Could this be why Damien said I need protection?

As I jumped over a second branch, I scratched my thigh on a sharp wood. I could feel the pieces of wood in my skin but for some reason, it didn't hurt as much as I felt it was supposed to. Getting up, I continued running.

"Blood..I can smell her blood, this way folks,"

Just then, arrows came flying and I sat back down behind the tree to dodge them. My leg hurt and I had lost a lot of blood. I cut the hem of my dress and tied it around my leg to reduce the bleeding.

Suddenly, the smell of smoke filled my senses and I could hear the sound of screaming men.

"Run…It's him" I heard and I tried to get up to run as well but I couldn't.

The sound of hoofs drew nearer and I saw a man standing beside a tree not so far from where I sat; a man with a horse's body? My eyes widened in shock as he lifted his bow and arrow towards my chest. I felt scared to my bones, thinking it was the end for me, so I sat still expecting the worst.

Just then, a hand came through his chest revealing his heart. The scenery was sickening to watch and I almost threw up at the sight. The horseman fell flat to the ground and immediately lit up in flames. A man walked through the burning fire, without burning himself. His eyes were as red as the flames that burned and his nails were as long as claws. He crouched to my level and I finally saw his face.

Damien? He scooped me up in his arms in a bridal style. I felt scared but something about him made me feel safe, like I could trust him.

"You're alright now," he said and his voice assured me and I indeed felt safe so I placed my hand over his shoulders.