Lay Me To Sleep

Chapter Two- Leaving You

Nina decided that morning she was going to move out of her childhood home. There was nothing left for her there and it saddened her to be in that place. Although the house made her think of Catherine and Mother, they were gone and all she could keep were the memories of them. As she went through the items in the house, deciding what she could sell and what she was to keep, she came across an old photo of a man. It was Richard. The man who beat her, the man who beat her mother. She took the photo along with all of the other useless junk she found left of his and burned it in the fireplace. It felt good to be rid if him after all these years and to know that something good had come of the plague. He was dead. Richard could no longer hurt anyone ever- because.. He. Was. Dead. The thought made Nina smile. He finally got what he deserved- a nice place in hell, she could only hope. It made Nina happy, the prospect of Richard's demise. She only wished she could've had a hand in it. A morbid thought, but it could've only made sense to someone who had lived with such a monster all those years. Nevertheless it was her mind, she could think what she wanted. Besides thinking about someone could never bring them back from death.

It took a few days but eventually Nina sold or got rid if the majority of her families things. She didn't want to but she knew she'd have to if she wanted to move on with her life. She kept a few things-things she could carry with her to her new home. She kept her mothers necklace and ring from her grandmother. She kept her own clothes and some of her mothers, a few family heirlooms here and there and a few family pictures. This was all she would have from them, she thought to herself. A few stray tears crept down the apples of her cheeks. She furiously wiped them away and told herself she would need to be strong now. Do this for Mother and Catherine. And for yourself, you deserve a new start, she thought.

Paris, France was a long ways away from her home. She would take two ships total to get there. The first would only take her to a port in Belgium, where she could then board another vessel to continue on to a different port in France. And once she hit France she was off to the city- to Paris. She would walk a lot of the way and then get a horse to carry her to her place of rent. This would be her new home.

The first ship she was to board left in one hour. She had packed everything she would ever need in one suitcase. As she looked at it, she felt sad really. This suitcase held her entire life and everything she cherished-from memories of her family to the clothes she wore. This was all she had now. Of course she would be buying a lot if her clothes and furniture and things upon her getting to Paris, but it was just depressing how much she had left of her old life. Not a lot.

The ship set sail and she with it. Though she had to admit the ocean did make her feel sick at first, it was something she got used to. The rocking of the vessel seemed to calm her and soon she drifted off into sleep.

-Dream-----------------------------------

Nina was running. She didn't know where to or from what. All she knew was that she had to get away from whatever was after her and as quickly as possible. It was a most unsettling feeling in her chest. She could hear the footsteps trailing closer and closer behind her and pushed herself to run all the more quickly. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe. A panic attack had set in. She felt like her lungs had been set ablaze. Her corset and dress were heavy and making it hard for her to run, not to mention her shoes. She ran for a long time until she reached an alleyway.  It was dark and hard to see anything. She stopped to rest for a minute and to see if her pursuer had stopped- as she had not heard the footsteps in some time now.

She crouched down behind a dumpster and took off her boots. They were killing her. When she looked up she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Whatever it was moved so fast it was hard to process, it was if nothing was there at all. That unsettling feeling crept back up her spine and into her chest. All she could think to do-run. Almost immediately she dropped her shoes and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She ran on pure fear and adrenalin. She didn't make it far though before she was being attacked by an unseen force. It had grabbed at her from behind and drew her up off her feet by the neck. She groped at the air for something to hold onto as her lungs gasped for air. She tired to scream but caught whiplash, as her whole body was sent abruptly backward.

She whipped her head around and was met with a set of beautiful but terrifying blue eyes. A man. He looked at her with a predatory glare as she tried to get out of his arms. He was a man but somehow almost not. He was too strong for Nina to take on. No one should be this strong. He had the features of a man but at the same time was something entirely different. She tried to scream out for help but his left hand was over her mouth in an instant. It didn't seem possible as to how fast the stranger moved. He smiled at her weak little attempt. Not only his hand over her mouth but also his glare made it increasingly harder to breathe. Nina was on the verge of blackout. His eyes almost seemed to grow more intense the more she stared at them. He was a live nightmare.

"You have fire. I like that." The man said as he smiled dangerously at Nina. By this point she was trying her damnedest to scream, she was thrashing and trying to get out of his hold. No matter how hard she tried to scream nothing came out. And his hold on her was that of cement. Her struggle was in vain as the man bent his head down to her throat. Nina shuddered. He kissed her roughly on her pale slender neck. Nina could feel his teeth on the surface of her skin, they were sharper than a persons should be. Like a wild animal, she thrashed about all the more before a paralyzing pain entered her neck. She felt like someone was trying to tear open her throat and hand it to her.  She almost couldn't decide whether to scream or be silent, all she could think of was the searing white pain in her neck. Her mouth was left agape. And then the most shrill scream erupted from a weakening Nina. The pain had subsided a small amount. Nina couldn't feel her body, but she could not move. She felt the man move her to rest in his lap, she lay there horrified. She felt hands move stray hair out of her face and then attempt to calm her. A few strangled pleas tried to make their way out of her mouth. She couldn't muster them though. The man felt her tense once more. "Hush now." The man said, blood staining his lips. Nina couldn't see anything but blue eyes and blood. All the blood.. There was just so much, and it was everywhere. Nina's entire being felt cold. She could feel a hot liquid substance cascading down her throat and out of her mouth. But still, the man only watched her. He watched closely as the blood pooled in her right cheek and then out of her mouth. She could only guess what it was- death was upon her. Fast and steady. She was losing consciousness and fast, the strange mans face was blurring but she could scarcely make out those terrific blue eyes. They held no compassion in them as he smiled down at her.
-------------------------------------------

Nina awoke with a fright as she clutched her chest. The man from the dream was nowhere to be seen. She checked her neck- no damage whatsoever. She was alive, she was fine. Who was that man? Why did she have such a terrible nightmare? The dream unsettled Nina but she shrugged it off and blamed it on stress. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep. In the hopes that in the morning she would arrive in Paris. That she would arrive home.