Dark Paradise | Spike

0. The Beginning

The year was 1879. Mariella Romero was a beautiful young girl 21 years of age. Of course, back then that wasn't considered young, she was considered an adult woman ready to be married off to the man of her parents choosing. Then she would have to start popping out children of her own, praying each time that her unborn child was a son, so that he could carry on the family line. But she didn't feel ready to bear children of her own; she still felt like a child herself. A young girl yearning to travel the world and drink in the culture, not yet ready for the woes of womanhood, where she would be confined to her house, her only duty to serve her husband and take care of her children.

It was pitch black outside, a full moon glistening in the night sky. It was a cool night. The wind was steadily blowing through the trees and Mariella could hear the orchestra playing from inside the house. She couldn't seem to catch her breath. Her dress was too tight against her ribs, too heavy on her body as she desperately tried to make her lungs fill with air.

It seemed strange that only a few hours ago she was so elated to be at this party, that she was dancing happily underneath the ballroom's candle lights. Mariella has never been a vain girl, but when she put on the white dress that had been her mother's, she felt beautiful. That dress was now torn at the bottom, and covered with mud and grass stains. Her hair that had been so carefully pinned up with a blue hair piece had fallen down and was knotted at her back.

Regardless of the vastness around her she felt trapped. It was as though her senses had been turned up a notch. The laughter of the couples strolling arm in arm too loud, their curious glances too heavy. The weight of it all was too much.

I have to get out of here.

So she did. Mariella ran past the partygoers, ignoring their surprised yelps. She ran past the carriages and the footmen standing beside them. Even though her lungs burned from the effort and her legs were about to slip out from under her, she kept running.

Eventually she had to stop, reaching a dead end where she could go no further. In front of her were the cliffs at the edge of the city that dropped off into the dark sea. As she turned back she could just make out the buildings and lights in the distance. Feeling that she was safely far enough from everyone else she could finally catch her breath.

She stood at the edge of the cliff, watching the raging ocean below her, wind flowing through her hair and white dress. The blackened water crashed against the rocky shore. It almost made her feel more at ease, as if her emotions were conveyed through the sea and cloudy gray sky. It made her feel understood.

Behind her, she heard a loud crack. Startled, she whipped around just in time to see a large branch falling from a tree near her. She felt like everything was moving in slow motion, like she was frozen in place, unable to move or run away. She stumbled back, losing her balance, and before she knew it she was falling.

She could see the cliff edge above her get farther and farther away, taking with it her old life. The ocean rushed up to meet her, enveloping her in its cold, unknown darkness. She panicked, fighting to keep her frigid limbs moving as she tried to swim to the surface. As she broke above the water a wave came crashing over her, knocking her back under. She tried again and again, desperately fighting for air, but it was no use. The ocean that she previously felt understood her now seemed to be working against her, determined to drag her deep into its depths.

Eventually she stopped. Lungs burning, her arms numb and unable to move—she didn't have it in her to continue fighting. She let herself fall, staring at the rippling surface above her getting far away.

She no longer felt afraid, but tired and content, she had accepted her fate, feeling relief at the fact she could finally rest. She welcomed the ocean's embrace, the corners of her vision getting darker. The last thing she remembered was the feeling of cold hands dragging her deeper into the ocean. 

That was the end of her old life. From then on, she belonged to the sea.

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Disclaimer- this is going to be an enemies to lovers slowburn, and it will take quite a while before they get into an actual relationship. I hope you enjoy!
-Lilly <3