Setting
"Well," I said, my shaky voice betraying the fact that I was nervous. "I guess this is it." I lanced down at my outfit, before looking up at my brother.
"Stay close to me, Ali," he ordered, though I had been planning to anyway. I nodded as he wrapped an arm around me and led me out of the car.
We walked up to the mansion where a man came over, and started pulling me away from Drew. Andrew pulled me closer, but I was pulled away. I could hear him yelling my name.
"Drew!" I called out. I felt sick. All this pushing around reminded me of my father, and it made me want to take a breath, or get sick, or faint. Or maybe all three at the same time. I was suddenly glad for the mask as my eyes started to tear up.
"Andrew!" I called again, my voice cracking at the end. I started to shove through, but someone gripped my arm tightly, tugging me back. I soon realized it was useless and gave up, letting myself be dragged off.
It wasn't until after Gregory had started moving towards the mansion that he noticed other people moving from cars that were identical to the one he had just left. In fact most of the other ones had two people getting out of them, or so it seemed. Am I the only one here who doesn't have any real brothers or sisters? Gregory thought to himself as he walked forward, but looked at the people. Suddenly a large fight broke out among one of the pairs of two. Apparently a brother didn't want to be separated from his sister, and was willing to fight for it. Gregory watched as the guy was ruthlessly thrown around by the men surrounding him, and his sister was taken from him despite his best efforts. Why fight? Greg though If they wanted to hurt us, they'd have knocked us out for the ride over here. He shook his head and continued forward. Finally he came to the front steps of the mansion. He looked at his goons, who had placed one hand on each of Greg's shoulders. "We'll wait for the others." One of them said in a deep baritone. Greg nodded and let his eyes wander to the windows of the mansions. He thought about how his life could get any worse, but then again he thought I'd rather this than being back with my "family".... Maybe they'll do me a favor and just kill me?
He wasn't even sure how he hadn't fallen over. The images in front of him swam, and he suddenly wanted to go swimming himself. He heard Delia's voice, but not her words. He did see her hand, painted expressionistically against the dark canvas that was the pavement. Instinctively, if a bit desperately, he took it. He knew that he was supposed to be reassuring and comforting her, but the glazed eyes from behind the Guy Fawkes mask needed guidance. He, of course, picked the mask for its prominence in V for Vendetta. It was the only mask he recognized. For some reason, that was important to him. Everything else was so dream-like, he needed something he could call real.
Dameon felt Delia's hand slide away from his, and he momentarily panicked. He was lost. The stairs loomed and shifted. He must have been dragged up the steps, because he knew there was no way be could have climbed them himself. The doors grew taller in front, and his eyes hurt. He blinked hard, and decided to just stare at the inside of his mask when they reopened.
Welcome, Children! Iam so glad you have arrived. Some of us are running late, so we will just have a little bit of fun. When they arrive we will continue as planned. Until then, I would like the lovely ladies to follow Jerome up to your floor. Jerome wave your hand high, so the ladies can see it. Alright, you may be off now, to the third floor. Now for our handsome heros, If you would follow Alexander he will show you to your floor. Now dont go wandering off of your floor, unless to a lower floor event. Alexander do the same as Jerome, show them to the second floor. I hope you all enjoy your stay, there will be arrangements for you to do things on your floor.
I saw the fight break out and the man scared me. I felt like huddling in the corner. His anger reminded me so much of my father. The poor girl, must have been his sister. She seemed so scared, then she just stopped. I felt my breaths quicken, my stomach lurch, and my hands get clammy. I felt that falling feeling again, but it lasted a while so I knew it was just a feeling. Then I heard a voice and it frightened me. I realized it was the man who kidnapped us. I looked around for Dameon, I wanted to see him before I left, so I didn't immediately follow when the guy started walking away. I saw him all fuzzy standing at the top of the steps. I ran over to him and latched on. "I love you so much Dameon. At the events, find me please. I dont want to be stuck with that guy." I motioned towards the man who was still screaming.
"Welcome, Children! I am so glad you have arrived. Some of us are running late, so we will just have a little bit of fun. When they arrive we will continue as planned. Until then, I would like the lovely ladies to follow Jerome up to your floor. Jerome wave your hand high, so the ladies can see it. Alright, you may be off now, to the third floor. Now for our handsome heroes, If you would follow Alexander he will show you to your floor. Now don't go wandering off of your floor, unless to a lower floor event. Alexander do the same as Jerome, show them to the second floor. I hope you all enjoy your stay, there will be arrangements for you to do things on your floor."
Children? What? You don't kidnap your children! I cleared my throat. "Um," I squeaked, then cleared my throat a bit quieter. "Hi?" I called out, much louder this time. The ringing left by my speaking made me cringe a little. Maybe I'd been too loud...
Gregory followed the one that was apparently called Alexander, one of his grunts actually. He led the group of boys through what seemed like a maze of corridors and stairs. Up ahead Greg could hear the Fighter being pushed forward. Finally after going up four flights of stairs and around an infinite number of corners Greg was stopped in front of an open door. After he looked at the Ape who had stopped him, then into the room, he took a step into the room. "You will be summoned when you may leave this floor." The Ape said, and then the door slammed behind him. Greg looked around his room. It was spectacular.
The room had three walls, covered in bookshelves. However there were only three books, and they were immediately above the bed, which was a simple white linen covered single, in the right hand corner away from the door. The lights above his head all looked like candles, that floated of their own free will. Only after closer inspection did Greg see the strings attaching them to the ceiling. The shed a very warm light, that was enough to see by, but not too bright. There was a desk in the left hand corner away from the door with five drawers, one of which had a key hole. Greg walked over to it and put the key that sat on top of the desk in his vest pocket. I could live here he thought. He walked to the bed and looked at the books. One was an apparent map and history of the mansions, another was a self help book, and the third was a guide to "picking up chicks." Looking back at the wall with the door in it Gregory laid down on the bed. I could definitely live here.
She followed the man that had grabbed her arm, who must have been Jerome, and finally took in the fellow prisoners. The only male who had come with no fuss or dramatic entrance seemed almost annoyed at the fuss the others were making. He did realize they had just been kidnapped, right? Alison had a feeling that he might get on her nerves.
The next male seemed high on drugs or alcohol, either way he stumbled up the steps and sat down, seemingly disorientated. The girl beside him must have been his sister, as they spoke to each other as if they had known each other for years. She seemed very upset, anyway.
The last one had just arrived, a female, who looked very innocent, shy - though of course, looks can be deceiving. She seemed to be speaking to everyone as she called out a quiet 'hi,' but Alison ignored her, following this Jerome guy up the stairs.
The room began to spin around, or maybe that was just him walking. Time slowed down as he stared dumbfoundedly at a candle. The fire flickered and danced in slow motion. "Welcome," it hissed to him. "Welcome."
The flames waved him over to the bed. He didn't feel his duffel bag hit the floor as he sluggishly followed the candles. It felt like he was moving through molasses. Did he hear voices? Or was it singing? Music? The candles ushered him forward. They grew taller, the flames becoming hair, and he was surrounded by numbers of beautiful, waxen women with fiery hair, beckoning him towards the bed.
His face hit the covers, and he was on a cloud. But, suddenly, he felt himself falling, and he gave a muffled shout as he clawed the duvet, trying to stay on. In his mind, he was about to fall thousands of feet. In reality, half of him was on the floor, the other half grasping at the bed, his eyes wide in an irrational panic.
Finally, he managed to pull himself entirely onto the bed. In his mind, he was now an angel, laying on the cloud. Relaxing. He shut his eyes and listened to himself breathing, and to the candles whispering to each other. He wasn't asleep, but he wasn't awake either.
I looked at him confused, then I realized what he was talking about. "I have nothin-" I was cut off when a woman walked in with a stunning dress. It was a brownish color with sparkles all over it. It had a couple of ribbons around the waist, then it flared out, and under the breasts. It was sleeveless, and had a jewel between the breasts. Another woman brought in black silk gloves and shoes. After they put the cloths on me, they brought worked on my hair, pushing it to the side and leaving half on my back. It was slightly curled. I had to admit I looked stunning. I just couldn't help but wonder who father had planned for me tonight. When I was ready they escorted me downstairs to a ballroom. There were others dancing, but I decided to wander off to the side. I had hopes of finding Dameon.
He didn't know how long he sat there. It could have been an hour, or it could have been three days. But finally the door opened and an Ape walked in. He wore all black, a nice suit in fact, and shut the door behind him. He stood looking at Gregory, who didn't move until the man stepped forward and spoke. "The Master has summoned you downstairs. You must get dressed." He then accented this by throwing a garment bag at him. Greg jumped up to catch the bag, and then unzipped the bag. Inside he found a very nice suit "Well at least you all have taste." Greg replied, before taking off his pants.
After Greg had stripped and put on the suit, all in front of the Ape who refused to leave, the Ape then led him out to the hall. Before they left however the man threw his arm out "Wait!" He said "You need your mask. Just in case." So Greg ran back to grab it. Then they set down the hall. The turns and random steps were just as confusing as before, there was no way Greg would ever be able to find his own way around this mansion. However eventually Greg found that they made it to a GIANT ballroom. There were people dancing, but he had no idea who they were and, quite frankly, he didn't really want to find out. "Thanks for the lift." he said to his guide and went to the left corner, farthest from the door he came in, and sat down on the ground.
"For the ball," he explained. I nodded slowly and stood up, walking over to wear he was holding it.
"It's very.. uh.." I started, before he pushed the dress towards me. I took it and waited for him to leave to get changed. After I had changed, a woman came in, holding red shoes. She motioned for me to sit down on the bed and I did so. She slipped the shoes on me as another woman painted my nails a red color, and a final woman started to style my hair.
An hour later, I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked stunning, I had to admit. The mask covered my face, and my hair was curled and styled. I smiled at my reflection, before leaving the room and following the man down the stairs. I was nervous and unsure what was going to happen, but I made my way to the ballroom. There were a few people dancing, but I only recognized two kidnapped people. The innocent looking girl and the annoyed boy, who sat in the corner. I thought about walking over to one of them but hesitated, staying a few metres from the door I entered.
He zoned out as they did his hair. He must have been quite a mess, since they had to add just a tad bit of make-up to make him look more lively. They even put concealer under his eyes. He had horribly dark bags, both from the drugs and lack of sleep, which was funny, since Dameon thought he slept all the time. As they put the mask on him, he thought it was even more hilarious that they put so much attention on his face.
Downstairs, Dameon immediately looked for his sister. He didn't know anyone else here, and he knew Delia would secure him into reality. He found her on the side, and he snuck up behind her playfully and just stood inches away from her back, waiting for her to notice. Everything still moved too fast or too slow, but at least he could see things a little better. The extremities of the high had, for the most part, passed.
I was standing alone, looking for Dameon, when I felt someone come up behind me. I tensed up, but ignored them. After a while, when they didn't go away, I finally turned around. "Dame! Your finally here!" I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him close. I finally pulled away and stood as close to him as possible. "I cant do this." I finally whispered, my eyes on the ground. "This is all fathers plan, he wont be happy if I do this." A couple of the men, standing guard you could say, came over and told us we needed to find a partner, and dance. I grabbed Dameon's hand, taking him to the dance floor. "Dont make me dance with anyone else, please." I knew I should have let him go, but I was to scared.
"Um, hi. I'm Tess. Wanna dance?" She said as she crouched next to him. Her leg was exposed for an instant, which she quickly covered up, and Greg liked that. It meant she was modest. "I mean, if you don't want to, that's completely fine-" she continued, and the uncertainty in her voice was astoundingly cute. Greg looked at her for a second "Um.... I mean.... Yeah, I'd love to.... But..... Uh.... Haha I can't really dance..." He managed to say. That much alone was astounding, considering how much noise there was in that God forsaken ball room.
He held her casually, not too intimate not too awkward, and swayed to the music. When he was sober, he was a fairly good dancer, but it was difficult now to make his legs do exactly what he wanted. "You lead," he told her quietly, "I know you can do it."
The song changed to a slower pace, and Dameon grin spread wider. "I love this song," he said, "Makes you want to hold someone tight." He didn't act on his words, though. He wasn't that high. But the emotions were getting to him, and he felt his eyes well up at the beauty of the truthfully somewhat generic love song. "Doesn't it? Doesn't it make you want to hold someone tight?" He spotted a couple just starting to dance, and voiced his question louder. "Doesn't this song make you want to hold her tight?" he asked the guy.
"I think I need to go somewhere for a minute. I'm really sorry for ditching you on the dance floor," she whispered apologetically.
Without staying long enough, Tess turned and walked as fast as she could in her high heels, and once she reached the doorway of the ballroom, she kicked off her heels, grabbed both of them in one hand, hitched her skirt up just enough to allow her feet some freedom, and made a mad dash towards the staircase to her room. She ran for one and a half glorious minutes... and then ran right into a pair of angry henchmen.
Tess bit her lip. Forcing her sweetest smile, she stepped back.
"Um... I was looking for the restroom, and I got lost?" she lied.
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