Editor's note: this fictional work contains scenes of fictional mind control, rough, reluctant, dubiously consensual, consensually non-consensual (CNC), or non-consensual sex or scenarios.
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Pt1- Night One
"So, I've inherited Dracula's castle?" Emma scoffed, gesturing broadly around her, half expecting a bat to swoop down at her out of some dark, spider web filled corner.
Mr. Crane, the lawyer, cocked his head, a look of weary confusion on his gaunt face, "No, ma'am. This is Helgate Manor."
Emma took a deep breath, "No, I know..." she stopped and shook her head. Emma had heard the lawyer and had read the paperwork, several times, before making the trip out to see the old estate. "I'm still not entirely clear on how I am the Helgate heir when I've never heard the name before."
"It seems the late Mr. Helgate was your great great grandmother's brother. While Mr. Helgate was blessed to live a long and prosperous life, he was not blessed with children. You are the eldest living relative, as such you are his heir and inherit the estate and what remains of his fortune," Crane spoke as if he thought Emma were an idiot.
Emma nodded, "Right, so are the servants part of the package?" she chuckled to her self and smiled.
The lawyer was clearly not amused, "Towards the end of his life Mr. Helgate did not employ a full retinue, rather only a few essential personnel—housemaid, cook, groundskeeper, and driver—who have since been let go. If you require household staff, I can provide you with their contact information."
"No," Emma scratched her temple, "No, I think... No. Thank you though."
After wrapping up the last of the formalities, the old, gray faced Mr. Crane left the estate, leaving Emma alone in the sprawling, lonely, exceedingly creepy Helgate Manor. She'd toured the main floor with Mr. Crane, but Emma wanted to explore the manor on her own and get to know it better. She wasn't at all sure what she was supposed to do with the sprawling estate, but felt like she had to get to know it before making a decision.
She wandered the ground floor, peeking in on what she had been told was the parlor and the drawing room—though she wasn't sure which was which. One did seem smaller, was that the difference? The table in the dining room seemed large enough to seat every person she'd ever known and Emma couldn't imagine hosting a dinner party that filled it. The library drew her in when she came to it. Shelves and shelves of books. Emma was positive that it was larger than the library in her high school. Some of the titles or authors were familiar. Classical literature that she'd always felt like she was supposed to read, but really didn't want to. There were many more titles that she did not recognize. Some were clearly in other languages, she recognized French and German as well as what she thought might be Latin and possibly Greek. Old books. They honestly looked haunted, she expected that if she opened one and tried to read aloud it she would summon a demon.
She explored the library, touching the spines of the books—pulling out a few that seemed safe and flipping through them. Emma found herself reading one of the books she'd been leafing through, absentmindedly absorbed in it when a clicking sound, like the ticking of a dogs nails as they walked across hardwood, caught her attention. She whipped her head towards the sound. Nothing was there. Emma moved towards the direction of the sound, wondering if Mr. Crane had forgotten to mention a dog. Was someone coming to take care of it?
Emma looked around the room, behind and under furniture. She couldn't find the dog, but could hear it occasionally as she looked. She could hear the padded footfall and nails on the floor and the panting breath as it moved through the room, but it wasn't anywhere she looked and it didn't come when she called for it. Emma was beginning to be convinced that being alone in the big old, dusty, creaky house must just be playing tricks with her brain when she saw movement in her peripheral vision. She snapped her head towards it, catching a large shadow sinking into the darkness of the far corner of the room. It did not look like a dog. Emma dropped the book in her hand and fearfully backed towards the door, forcefully hitting the door frame; then turning to run.
She ran back through the house, to the great hall and out of the doors, down the front porch steps into the vast quiet darkness of the estate grounds. Emma kept running until she reached her car, flinging open the door, realizing as she went to start it that her keys were in her purse inside. She sat there for a moment—knowing that she needed to go back inside, but unable to convince herself to do so. Finally, hesitantly, she started back towards the house, but couldn't bring herself to climb the steps. It felt insane, but she was certain she had seen something in the library. The shadow had been similar to that of a dog, but wrong somehow. Emma stood there for what felt like an eternity, frozen in indecision, when the phone in her pocket rang.
Emma quickly reached for it and answered without bothering to check to see who it was, "Yes?"
"Hey, I was surprised you answered..." a familiar voice replied.
"James, can you come here? I'll text you the address."
"Yeah, definitely. Why? I mean, where is here?"
"Just come, please."
"Okay, I'm on my way."
Emma hung up and texted the address of the manor, barely recognizing that she had just asked her ex-boyfriend to come over without any context as to why. But, she couldn't bring herself to go back inside the house for her keys and honestly her car wasn't really far enough away. She knew it was going to be about an hour for him to get to Helgate from the city, so not knowing what else to, do Emma went to wait in her car. She locked the doors and told herself that before she knew it, she'd be getting out of there.
***
A knock on her window woke her and Emma realized that despite her efforts to stay awake she must have dozed off while she waited. She scanned the area before opening the door.
James looked confused, "Why are you in the car? And where are we?"
Emma wordlessly started towards his car.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked as she went to get in, "Emma, what is going on? Where are we?"
"This is Helgate manor... it's mine. There was something in there. I think it's haunted."
He laughed, "Haunted? And what do you mean yours?"
"James, I'm serious, there was something in there and I can't go back in. I ran out here and realized my keys were still in there and I couldn't leave, then you called, and... can we please leave?"
