The Royal Heir - Dancing with my eyes closed

The upward turn

**trigger warning for gore, mentions of miscarriage in opening dream sequence**

I hear the whistling wind and the thud of incessant rain from outside. I'm in one of the palace bedrooms. Yep, that one. It's really dark here. Really cold. There's so much blood everywhere, it's all over the floor.

"Maxwell..."

Jen suddenly sits up from the bed she died on. She's grey in colour, as if all the blood's already drained out of her. Yup, she's zombie!Jen, and I don't like it. I don't like it at all. I take a step back, fearful.

"Be a good dad for our baby girl.. Maxwell..." She stands up, and starts advancing towards me, arms flailed out, her fingernails like weapons.

"Yikes!" I turn to run, glancing back at the horrendous monster my beautiful little blossom has become. Her eyes are hanging out of their sockets, her skin is falling off her face... "I will, Jen, I promise!!"

But now she's somehow in front of me, and she grabs me around the neck. "Promise me one more thing," she yells, manically.

"Acck!" I can't speak. She loosens her grip. "Anything."

"Don't ever fall in love again. You're going to love me forever." All I can smell is rotting flesh and blood.

"I will," I sob. "I'll love you forever, little blossom."

"I don't believe you!" zombie!Jen yells. "I saw how you looked at him."

"What? Who?" I look around the room, but there's nobody else around.

Then, as suddenly as she was resurrected, she collapses to the floor, a sloppy pile of bones protruding out of flesh; all that's left that I recognise now is her beautiful curly black hair. I reach down to touch it, it's loose and it falls into my hands. I'm toying with it now, wailing with grief.

Then I hear Rick's smug and condescending voice from above. "Maxwell, what have you done?" He's looming over me, glaring menacingly. "You killed her because you couldn't love her forever."

Then Anna steps alongside him, holding what at first looks like a tiny, deformed doll. I shudder in horror when I realise what it is. "And you killed our baby! See? It's dead!"

Dad's now standing behind the two of them, holding Bella when she was still a baby. "And he tried to kill his own daughter! The heir to the throne! Shame on him!"

I don't think this nightmare can possibly get any worse.

Then when I look across the room, I see Tommy's been in it the whole time, leaning against the wall just by the window. There's a fearful expression on his handsome face.

I leap to my feet. "Tommy..."

"Is all this true? Did you really do all those things?" His eyes narrow in disgust. "I thought I knew you, Maxwell. But I don't know you at all.."

"Tommy, no, it's not like that..." I run to him, but when I reach for him, he's gone. Instead I slip and collapse onto the blood-saturated floor, and everyone else is laughing at me, even the dead baby and Bella and what's left of zombie!Jen.

And I wake up.

I gasp for breath, and throw my arms around myself as I lie alone in our bed, shivering all over. Uggghhh. What the fuck is going on in my head?

Chance is soon there with a reassuring lick to the face. "Thanks boy," I tell him. "At least you didn't turn against me. You can have an extra scooby snack at breakfast for that."