**Due to so much positive feedback, I had to continue!! I hope to all the people who criticized my rushed opening, that things are a little cleared up in this chapter. There's no sex in this one, but I am slowly but surely getting there! It will be worth it! Happy reading! ~Secret_Red**
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Eric stared at the young woman before him. He had heard so much about her strong will, her intelligence, her love of all things, her beauty, and most of all about her fear of vampires. He glanced over at Robert, her father, and saw the fatherly concern etched into his face. Reading his friend's thoughts, he realized they echoed his own, "When the trance wears off, will she be able to handle the truth?"
"When we arrive at the compound, please place Miss Michaels in the Violet Suite. And please have Stephen go to her and speak with her about everything that happened tonight," Eric said to one of the guards. "Robert, I know you were just reunited with Ashlynn; but I would like to speak with you privately in my office," he said to the grim faced Robert.
Arriving before a wrought iron gate, Ashlynn finally looked up and at her surroundings. She watched as the SUV climbed a long and winding driveway to stop before one of the largest homes she had ever seen. A young man, named John, grasped her arm upon exiting the SUV and escorted her through the huge wooden front doors. Without stopping to allow Ashlynn to look around she was taken up the winding staircase and into a very purple room. "I will have someone bring you up some clean clothing, and something warm to eat and drink. Perhaps there is something in particular you would like, Miss Michaels," John asked.
"I don't want to be any trouble, but that does sound nice. I would like a cup of hot tea if possible. When can I see my father again so that I can talk to him? I have so many things to find out," said Ashlynn.
"Let me go speak with the housekeeper and I will ask Lord Eric about the other," John said upon exiting her room.
Ashlynn walked to the window and surveyed all that was going on below. She saw people running around everywhere, doing their various jobs. She wondered what she would have to do here, or if they would allow her to go home. "Do I really want to go home? Daddy is here," she wondered aloud.
"If my father was here, I wouldn't want to go home," a feminine voice said.
Ashlynn whirled away from the window to see a young woman dressed in a black skirt and top with a white apron. She was tall and willowy, blonde and blue eyed. The type of woman that Ashlynn had always wished she could be. "I-I-I didn't r-r-r-ealize anyone c-c-came in m-m-my r-r-room," Ashlynn stammered.
"I knocked, I think you were a little lost in your thoughts. My name's Kelly. I'm one of the maids here, and I am assigned to make sure your every whim is granted. Right now, I am going to run you a bath so you can meet with Stephen afterwards," Kelly said on her way into the bathroom, "Oh yeah, there's a pot of tea and a light meal on the table over there."
Ashlynn heard the water start and walked over to the table bearing a silver tray. It held a pot of tea, an eggshell thin tea cup, and a plate of food. Ashlynn ignored the food and poured herself a cup of tea, adding a teaspoon of sugar, and a squeeze of lemon. She slowly sipped the fragrant brew, while Kelly readied her bath. "It's ready when you are! I brought you some clothing. Everything should fit. I was unsure as to your bra size, but I think I guessed good enough," Kelly said, "If you need anything else, just pick up the phone and dial 0, ask for Kelly, and I will come running!" She exited the room, leaving Ashlynn alone with her thoughts.
Ashlynn walked over to the steaming bathroom, and inhaled. "Roses! Daddy remembered I love roses," she breathed.
The bath looked so warm and inviting, Ashlynn quickly began taking off her remaining clothing, including the leather jacket that someone had placed on her shoulders. She ignored the mirrors that surrounded the tub, and almost jumped into the steaming water. If she had bothered to look at her voluptuous reflection, she would have seen bruises shaped like handprints on both hips, thighs, and red scratches all over her breasts and stomach.
Ashlynn sighed as she sank down in the large porcelain bath tub. She inhaled deeply, and let the fragrance of roses take her back to her childhood at her grandmothers. She saw clearly the day when she was only seven years old and in her Grandmama's garden...
"Child, you must watch out for things at night. I don't wish to scare you, but I can sense that they are close to us. They have always been here and the rate it is going, they will discover you before long. They will always be walking in the shadows," Grandmama whispered to the freckle-faced little girl before her.
"Who Grandmama? Are you talking about that book of grandpapa's? You know he told me that they weren't real when he found out I read his book," Ashlynn stated.
"My dear sweet Ashlynn, your grandpapa didn't want you to be scared. They are real my dear," Grandmama said, "They have walked this earth for centuries. They were here before Christ walked the Earth. Your Grandpapa has studied them, and in some instances wished to be one of them. He married me, because they were attracted to me. Before you ask, I have no idea why. Since you and I look a lot alike, I want you to just be careful at night Ashlynn. Promise me that you will always be careful, Ashlynn!"
"I promise Grandmama! I promise," the little girl cried as she ran into her grandmother's arms. "Your daddy should be here soon, little one," she said, "Don't tell him that I spoke to you of these things."
Ashlynn did however, for that night she couldn't sleep for fear of vampires stealing into her room to get her. Robert, upon finding out the reason that Ashlynn was so scared, called his mother to ask her why she had to keep up with the nonsense about vampires. He had feared them since he was seven years old too. He had not wanted his child to go through the same thing he did because of his mother's dreams.
Ashlynn closed her eyes and let her mind drift forward three years. Once again she was at her grand mama's, only this time for much different reasons. The little girl's long auburn hair was braided in a long braid down her back; wisps of curls escaping the confines of the braid curled around her face. The little girl's skin looked so pale against her black dress, as she stood beside her mother's chair. Her mother looked beautiful in black. Her makeup done perfectly, and her hair neat and in place, her black dress hugging her body in a way that was almost indecent for someone that had just been widowed.
"Ashlynn, please stop slouching! I thought I told you to spray hair spray on your hair! My goodness don't you do anything right? Your father just died and you look like something the cat drug in, but then you are the reason he's dead," Sandra exclaimed.
"Sorry, Mommy. I will try and do better," Ashlynn said.
"I'm sure you will," Sandra snapped at her daughter as she got up and walked in the house.
Ashlynn wandered into her Grandmama's garden and inhaled the scent of late roses. Roses would always be her favorite scent. They would forever bring her back to this innocence of her childhood before cruel life dealt its hand. She found her way back to the spot where the memorial pictures of her father stood and didn't feel the tears that began to slip down her cheeks as she looked at her handsome father.
"Daddy, I'm so sorry I got mad at you. I didn't know that you would die that day. I didn't know the shed would catch on fire and that you would think I was hiding inside. I'm so sorry Daddy. I-I-I l-l-love you D-d-daddy. I should have told you Daddy, I should have told you Daddy," Ashlynn sobbed.
Ashlynn's grandmother comforted her the best she could. It was hard to comfort someone who felt they were the cause of their father's death. She had been there the night her son had died, she had seen Ashlynn get mad at her father over some small trivial thing and watched as the little girl had ran into the shed to hide. She had seen the fear cross her son's face at the sight of his daughter running into the shadows. Minutes later everyone smelled smoke and Robert had run into the shed not knowing the little girl had went inside the house to her bedroom. The shed had collapsed and the remains of her son's body had been so badly charred that he had been completely unrecognizable; so unrecognizable that the police took for granted that it was her son's body.
"My dear, sweet Ashlynn. Your daddy knows you love him and he knows you are sorry. You didn't kill your Daddy. It was an accident, baby, an accident," Grandmama said.
Ashlynn felt eyes upon her and looked up to see the smiling face of the maid, Kelly. "Sweetie, you've been in the tub for about an hour. I know that water has got to be cold," Kelly said, "Why don't I get you out and let's dry those tears off your pretty face."
Ashlynn slowly stood, the water glistening on her body, embarrassed to have someone else see her naked. Kelly thought to herself, "Now that's a body! Look at those breasts, those hips, and those legs! If I looked like that, I could have Lord Eric himself!"
Kelly wrapped a lavender bath sheet around Ashlynn and motioned for her to sit down at the vanity so that she could brush her hair. Kelly ran a comb through the damp locks of hair and watched in silence as tears continued to streak down Ashlynn's face. Before she could stop herself, she wrapped her arms around the younger woman. "It's ok, sweetie. It's going to be ok," she said as the dam within Ashlynn broke.
Ashlynn awoke a few hours later and stretched upon the large bed. She groaned at the stiffness that seemed to be in every muscle in her body. She rose from the bed to look at herself in the vanity mirror. Her green eyes took in the shadows beneath and the rumpled curly hair that framed her pale face. She took in the too big blue shirt and gym shorts that Kelly had helped her put on so that she could sleep. She never noticed the man sitting in the chair watching her every move.
Eric watched as Ashlynn surveyed herself in the mirror and took in her red rimmed eyes. Her hair was in beautiful disarray, and he wondered if the glossy auburn curls felt as silky as they looked. His hands twitched as he watched her run a hand down from her hair to her chest. He could almost feel the supple flesh beneath the thin cotton shirt she was wearing as if his hands had become hers. He slowly moved his eyes down and winced at the sight of a massive purple bruise on her left thigh.
