by Anna Santos
She got up and paced around. “Daddy will kill me if he finds out that I downstairs.” Sighing, she muttered, “But there’s nothing better to do in this forsaken stone fortress in the middle of nowhere. There’s nothing but sea around us. Why is he so mean to me?”
“Olivia!” the thunderous call came from the front door as she heard the large wooden door to the primary entrance swing open.
Olivia dropped the book on the floor and raced as fast as her legs could carry her to the living room where her father would be. Her breath became heavy, and her entire body shivered with worry as she emerged into the living room.
Wearing an overcompensating smile across her face, she greeted, “Father, did you get it?”
Her father opened his arms widely on either side of his body. “Is that the way to welcome your father home after a dangerous trip?”
“Welcome back, Papa,” she greeted and embraced him.
Robert bent on his left knee and stared into her eyes warmly. “Why is your heart racing so fast, Olivia? Where were you?”
“In my bedroom. Did you bring it?”
“Of course I did. Sam will bring everything later. He’s taking care of the supplies first.”
“Why didn’t you bring it with you?” She jumped up and down with her fingers entwined. “I wanted to try it on. It’s been ages since I have new clothes.”
“You are getting big,” her father said, placing a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “But calm down.”
Olivia huffed.
“Have you done what I asked you or did you spend your time in that stuffy library again?”
“Papa … when there remains nothing interesting to do in Stone Haven, I cannot sit by myself and stare at stone walls all day,” she replied. “At one point in time, they’d begin to start talking back.”
He laughed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“You could have taken me to the mainland,” she grumbled with folded arms.
“You have Sam to talk to if you want.”
“He’s dumb as a rock,” she protested.
“He’s a good kid, loyal, and I’m sure that he wouldn’t do you any harm. He’s here for our protection. You know that.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Protection from who?”
“We are the only ones living in this island. What if thieves arrive in boats and decide to attack us? I can’t protect you on my own.”
“No one would dare come here. They are all afraid and believe it’s haunted. Which would be exciting if that was true.”
“A haunted house seems exciting to you?”
“At least I could befriend the ghost.”
Robert laughed again and rubbed the top of his daughter’s head. “You have a vivid imagination, my dear. Now, make sure you prepare dinner and stop daydreaming.”
Olivia rolled her eyes but nodded. “As you wish, Papa.”
“That’s my girl.”
Chapter Three
Alaric paced around his cell, bothered out of his mind. With nothing else to do but sleep or gaze at the small barred window, he had too much free time on his hands to think about his situation. He had plenty of time to come up with a detailed plan of what he wanted to do to his mate and her ex-bodyguard and lover. His jaw tensed, and his teeth hurt with the rage cooked up inside his frail now mortal body. He often thought about the place he was held. He had no idea about its geographical location. The people watching over him were also unfamiliar. Though, the fat guy, Robert, seemed to know him and held a grudge against him.
The door to the dungeons opened, and Alaric sniffed the air. Robert didn’t open the door with such care, or he smelled of perfume. Lilies and something else that he couldn’t quite figure out. It had to be the mysterious female who kept throwing food at him. He had been eagerly waiting for her return.
It was the fifth time that this mysterious good Samaritan opened the door to throw food at him before running up the stairs.
Her boots resonated inside the rocky walls and he leaned closer to the barred door of his cell.
Clearing his throat, he spoke. “You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m harmless.”
The sound of the footsteps stopped.
He arched an eyebrow. “Just come closer. I promise that I don’t bite.”
The boots clicked down the stairs, and a head peeked from behind the wall.
Showing his best smile, Alaric folded his hands behind his back and stepped to the shadow. He held his breath so he could listen better. No luck. His senses were as weak as humans’.
The past days, he had used the shower daily and put on the clean clothes. He wanted to make himself presentable since the female seemed to be curious about him. His caretaker made sure he had clean clothes even if rather dull and outdated to his taste.
He spoke again. “Come. I want to look at you.” He paused and focused again. “It gets lonely in here. I wouldn’t mind someone to talk to.”
No movements.
He paced forward. “I’m sure you have no idea of how this is. You probably have a lot of friends and family outside to talk with.”
“No, I don’t.”
He raised an eyebrow and smirked. Progress.
“Do you want to be my friend then?”
“I can’t. Father…”
Her voice sounded young. Interesting.
“Does he need to know everything that you do?”
“No.”
She stepped down, and Alaric saw her leg, then the hem of her dress until her body showed close to the stairs. She wore a short summer dress. Alaric wondered if it was warm outside. In the dungeons, it was always cold, and even if he could see the sun, he could barely experience it on his skin.
He smiled at her. “Hi! I’m Alaric. What’s your name, pretty lady?”
She blushed and placed a strand of dark hair behind her ear.
“Come closer,” he said.
The young girl acted like a frightened animal, and he rejoiced with her innocence. Her long dark hair fell over her cheeks and big brown eyes locked with his. She had a bow-shaped upper lip, a round face, and a big nose. No beauty, but not as ugly as expected. Her breasts were nice, almost bursting through the cleavage of the dress.
“What’s your name?” He leaned forward but didn’t move.
“O-Olivia.”
“What a pretty name! Nice to meet you, Olivia.”
“Nice to meet you, A-Alaric.”
She stepped back.
He raised his hand. “Wait. Do you have somewhere you need to be?”
She shook her head.
He looked up. “Is the man, who holds me prisoner, home?”
She shook her head again. “He’s outside, working with Sam.”
Alaric bobbed his head with his lips stretched into a smile. “Are you like them?”
“Like what?”
“Monsters.”
“They are vampires. I’m not. Not yet.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Are you also a prisoner here?”
She shook her head. “The big guy is my father.”
“Oh!” He smirked. “How old are you then?”
“Seventeen.” She looked at the floor.
“Really? You look so mature for your age. I would assume you were much older.”
Olivia raised her face, and he saw her lips curled into a smile.
Placing a strand of hair behind her ear, she mumbled, “I’ll be eighteen soon enough. Then Father said that he was going to turn me into what he is.”
Alaric pursed his lips, unsure why she was telling him that. But it was better than talking to himself.
“Olivia, can I ask you a question?”
She nodded with parted lips.
“Do you know where we are? Do you live here? Why there aren’t any more people?”
“Wow, that’s a lot of questions. You are really confused.”
“I’m here against my will. I’m sure you are aware of that.”
Olivia averted her eyes
from him. “Father never did this before. All the time that we’ve been living here on the island, we never had anyone living in our basement.”
“Basement?” Alaric looked around. “It looks like a prison.”
“No, it’s just the house I lived for the most of my life. We are a few miles from Boston and Father often goes there to get supplies.”
He moved closer. “And you are okay with living here, away from everything and everybody?”
She shrugged. “What else am I supposed to do?”
“That’s not living.”
“I have my books.”
He smiled. “What do you like to read?”
She moved closer, and her eyes sparkled. “Mostly romance and mystery. I like paranormal books. We have an old library here. It has really old books. I’ve read the majority of them. I also tell dad what to buy, so I’m always reading new material.”
She leaned closer to the bars. “What do you like to read?”
It would be effortless to move and snap her neck. Yet, it would be counterproductive. She was naïve and reckless. He could use her.
“I like to read the old classics and detective stories. Those are my favorite.”
“Oh, I have a lot of detective stories.”
Alaric faked a sad face. “It must be nice to have something to entertain you in this lonely place.” He turned his back on her. “I wish I had something else to do than to look at the void.”
He didn’t dare to look at her, but the silence prolonged.
“I can bring you books for you to read. Would you like that?”
He smiled. “I would love that.” Turning around, he added, “It’s nice to have someone as pretty as you to talk to. Your father isn’t much of a talker and Sam … well, he doesn’t seem really bright.”
“I know! I have no idea why dad keeps him around. He doesn’t live with us in the house, though.”
Alaric narrowed his eyes. “I'm surprised you don’t like Sam. He’s tall and fit. I thought he was your boyfriend or husband.”
“Hell no! He’s not my type at all. He’s a brute.”
“He is.” Alaric agreed. “He hasn’t been nice to me.”
Olivia bit her lower lip. “Speaking of that, why are you here? Do you know?”
“Don’t you?”
She shook her head. “Father doesn’t tell me a lot of things about his vampire businesses.”
Alaric spoke softly. “I don’t expect you to believe me, but I did nothing to be here. By the contrary, I was betrayed by the ones I loved the most. My life has become a tragedy.
Olivia stepped back.
“Do you have to go already? Can’t you stay a bit more?”
“Daddy can come inside any moment. If he finds me here, I’ll be grounded.”
He reached for her arm but didn’t dare to touch her. “Olivia, wait. You said you had a library here. With lots of books. If you find one that it’s called ‘The Count of Montecristo’, could you bring it to me?”
“Why?”
“More than ever, I can relate with the hero of that story. Have you ever read it?”
Olivia shook her head.
“You would like it. It has romance, too.”
Olivia smiled. “I’ll try and find it. I’ll be back some other day with books for you.”
“Do you promise?”
“I do.”
Smiling, the girl disappeared up the stairs.
Once the door closed, Alaric laid down on his bed and pondered about the information that he had managed to get from the gullible girl.
***
Olivia waltzed down the corridor with a book hugged against her chest. Her smile faded when she heard her father’s voice thunder from the kitchen.
“Olivia!”
“I’m coming!” She rushed to the kitchen and locked eyes with Sam who was next to her dad. Placing her book on the table, she looked at her dad. “What’s wrong?”
“Why isn’t the kitchen cleaned? Where’s the food to our guest in the basement? What the hell have you been doing these past days?”
Her father’s questions left her head buzzing. “I-I…”
Sam spoke. “She’s been spending too much time in the library. I found her sleeping this morning while she was ironing clothes.”
Olivia glared at Sam. “I’ve been tired, that’s all.”
“Haven’t you been sleeping at night?” her father asked.
She shook her head. “I have new books to read, you know I read better at night, daddy.”
Robert grumbled but walked to her and patted her head. “Try to be more organized. You’ll be eighteen in a couple of weeks.”
“Yes.” She shook her head, beaming. “You said we could leave the island and spend the day in the city. Remember, daddy?”
His face became stern. “I don’t think we can do that anymore, honey. I promised you that when we didn’t have a guest to take care.”
She glared at him. “A guest? He’s harmless, and Sam could take care of the lighthouse for a day. You just need to turn it on when it’s night or fog anyway.”
“It’s not that easy, and you are mistaken if you believe that our guest is harmless. You have no idea of who he is.”
“Who is he then?” she asked, folding her arms.
Robert’s changed as he shouted, “It’s not your concern, child. Just do your duties if you want to continue to have an easy life.”
“An easy life?” Olivia shouted, matching her father’s anger. “I’m stuck here without anything to do. I’m your maid, not your daughter. You keep saying that it’s to keep me safe, but you and Sam are the monsters, not the humans. I’m still human, am I not? What would they do to me?”
“Not the humans. At least not the majority of them, Olivia.” His eyes looked at the floor with a sad expression. “I’m a monster, you are right. But I’d never harm my daughter. The monsters made me this and killed your mother. I’m keeping you here safe so that you don’t die before you have time to live.”
“I’m almost eighteen, dad. Soon I’ll be old enough to be like you and Sam.”
Robert shared a look with Sam and stretched his lips in a line. “Just be a good girl and make lunch. Sam and I have fed, but the monster downstairs needs to eat. Mistress won’t be happy if we make him sick.”
“Mistress… That lady is twisted and heartless if she wants to keep people locked up. Especially someone has …” She bit her tongue to stop herself from saying more than she should.
Robert frowned. “Have you been doing something that you shouldn’t?”
“Like what?” She smirked at him.
“Spying on our guest. God forbids if … have you talked to him?”
“Of course not. You said it was dangerous,” she protested.
Robert looked at Sam. He shrugged and averted his eyes to the floor.
“If you can’t wait for me to cook lunch, you could give me more responsibility and let me take his dinner.”
Robert’s head snapped at her. “What do you mean?”
“I could take his food downstairs. It’s not that hard, dad.”
“He could hurt you.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because he’s a twisted bastard like that.”
Sam spoke for the first time. “Your father is right. You might be curious because you don’t get to spend a lot of time with other people, but that dude downstairs is dangerous. You should stay away.”
Olivia clenched her teeth and faked a smile. “I’ll make something to eat. I’m starving too.”
“Good girl.” Her dad patted her head and reached for the coffee machine. “I’ll have some coffee, then Sam and I need to fix the roof on the lighthouse. Call for us when the food is ready.”
Olivia nodded, opening a cabinet and taking out some potatoes.
Robert poured himself a cup of coffee. The sound of the machine working accompanied his next words. “Also, daughter, try to go to bed earlier. And I don’t mean to read.
You have duties like the rest of us. I don’t want you to hurt yourself because you are tired. You could have started a fire with the iron on.”
“It won’t happen again,” Olivia assured.
Robert nodded and grabbed his cup of coffee. “Do you want one, Sam?”
“I’m good.” He folded his arms and followed Olivia’s movements.
“Move,” she ordered him.
Sam stepped back, and she grabbed a pot from another cabinet.
Chapter Four
It had been a few days since Olivia spent her nights with the handsome stranger in the basement. Father could never know that she knew where the key to the door was. Too bad that the key to the cell wasn’t in the same place and she had no clue where it was.
Her father and Sam were mistaken if they believed the handsome guy was dangerous. He was nothing but nice to her, and they had a lot of fun reading and talking about books. He often read to her and that only made her heart beat faster for his voice was sexy and his accent cultivated. Just like a prince.
“Alaric, are you awake?” She called as she descended in the dark with just a flashlight to guide her down the uneven rocky stairs. “I have the book you wanted.”
She saw him walk towards the bars with a smile. Her heart rejoiced, and she beamed at him. He looked better the past days, and she liked to think it was due to her company and the good food she did for him.
“I’ve missed you. I thought you weren’t coming tonight,” Alaric said, snaking his hands to the bars. “Come closer. What do you bring there for me?”
“I wanted to make you a surprise,” she chirped as she showed him the hardcover blue book. “I read it too. It’s a beautiful story. I’m happy that you told me about it.”
Alaric’s lips curled into a smile. “Then you understand now what happened to me.”
Her smile faded. “Is it true then? Your best friend betrayed you to be with your wife?”
Alaric nodded. “But she also betrayed me. She wanted to be with him so my story won’t have a happy ending like the Count of Monte Cristo.”
