Chapter one.

...“I love the ocean....

...I always will....

...But do I really have to drown in it to prove that I do.”...

Darkness never hides what we are so afraid to reveal, it simply give it a place to live that it never meant to get.

The room was a mess, things scattered carelessly around, quilts lying down on floor, bed wrinkled badly, furniture disarranged, white papers filled in redness.

Different sketches of flowers, a garden filled with redness, a sky painted red, butterflies painted crimson.

A girl sitting on the floor with her eyes glued to the white canvas standing in front of her, as brush strokes were slightly caressing the rought surface of canvas, she hummed a faded melody lost in time.

She was wearing a white thin lacy night gown all stained in red, her face brightened as the wind blew making the curtains dangle making the moonlight peck her skin.

Her light olive green eyes turned almost silver as they came in view of moonlight, her slight blonde hair almost turned the colour of faded night sky as the shadow of curtains hovered them.

Putting aside the brush, she stared at the canvas nonchalantly, a garden full of tiny red flowers with vast red evening sky as it looked like it almost bled, bled as the red raindrops kept falling down while a girl, lying in the endless field with her white wedding dress clenched to her skin- whole drenched in the blood of sky.

The blood of heaven.

The girl impressively signatured her name at the bottom end effortlessly like she has been doing it for lives now.

But then her eyes darted down towards her hands, stained in red, the colour red or perhaps the colour of hurt.

Oh heaven! Red blood, the colour left to shed

Chuckling sadly, she threw her head back, resting it on the end of bed, as she was sitting down on floor while her back pressed against the bed. Silently glaring at the wooden ceiling she tried, tried as much as she could to stop those tears from falling.

But at the end, they fell like stars falling down the sky, like rain drenching the thristy earth.

She wiped them off harshly not caring about the redness now staining her cheeks, before she could control them, she heard the handle of her door being twisted with a clutch sound.

She ignored the presence standing on her door, not glaring to glance up.

“Young Ms, madam has told me to inform you about your departure.”, a women in early 50s spoke politely almost pitifully, but was trained to hide it well.

“To where this time?”, the girl asked still eyes closed while biting harshly at her lower lip to bite down the silent whimpers.

“To your grandparents'.”, the lady replied patiently trying to trace her in the dark room. She couldn't see her as all around the Blair manor- no light connection was, only candles were allowed to lit the way in night or letting the moonlight guide you.

“But.... But no one exactly lives there.”, the girl spoke again now clearly at the edge to brust out.

“Madam said it is for your safety and told you to hurry.”, the lady spoke clearly having no information regarding this matter except what she was already told to inform.

“Okay, let's go.”, the lady heard the voice from some where, from dark, but as the girl walked to her, her heart almost jumped out.

The girl was looking no less then ghost, cheeks stained in red, hands stained in red, the off shoulder, white lacy night gown slightly holding itself back to her body with thin thread liked strips around her shoulders barely touching her scraped knees- ruined by redness.

Her slight blonde hair locks brushing her cheeks as the wind blew more violently, her light olive eyes looked silver because of the moonlight almost white.

Gulping down the uncertainties, the lady lowered her eyes moving aside, giving her young miss the way to walk.

She wanted to ask something, but was afraid to hear the answer she already knew.

“Are not you going to change and what about your luggage?”, the lady couldn't help but let it out as curiosity got better of her.

“Why need to change when this is how exactly I'm and about luggage so ofcourse I don't need one. What if tommoraw I have to leave that place as well?”, the girl spoke with a mischievous tone as she descended downstairs barefooted barely making a noise.

As she reached near the main exist, she turned around, “Is she not gonna bid me farewell?”, the girl asked roaming her eyes around.

“Madam isn't here little miss.”, the lady replied sadly.

“Then how I'm supposed to leave?”, the girl asked twirling around effortlessly in dramatic way- her hands resting behind her back, a slight assured smile on her face, when all of sudden she collided against something hard.

“Madam said someone will come to take you there.”, the lady spoke as she didn't see the person bumped into her little miss.

But her little miss froze, froze the moment her eyes met the black charcoal ones looking down at her, shining like the night sky because of moonlight.

The man stood tall at the entrance not moving just looking at her calmly or more precisely- memorising her ever facial detail not before she flinched on feeling his thumb gently grazing something off her cheek.

She immediately took few steps back eyes all shocked, heartbeat uneven, breathing not sure if holding or letting go.

“Little miss, you okay?“, the lady asked as the girl hid immediately behind her.

The lady darted her gaze towards the entrance when she saw a man looking at them or mostly at the girl hiding behind her like a scared kitten, secretly catching glances of him.

“You must be Mr. Allister.”, the lady spoke recognising him from the photo Mrs Blair showed her early this morning.

“Yes, I'm and you must be Ms Darcy.”, the man spoke politely, but his eyes still going back to the hidden kitten again and again.

“Young miss, he is the one madam talked about. She told me that you know him.”, the lady spoke gently tilting her head to calm her little miss.

“I don't know him, and I'm not leaving with him.”, the girl whispered close to her, as she didn't feel good about him.

“No, little miss he is a trustable person. And you already know him.”, the lady gently whispered back to her young miss.

“Are you sure this is the person mom told you about?”, the girl whispered in barely audible tone this time, taking inaudible steps back while dragging Ms Darcy slowly along with her.

“Yes, little miss. He is Mr Allister.”, Ms Darcy's tone now replaced with worry as she felt herself being dragged back, but didn't restrain.

“Are you talking about Cillian Allister?”, the little miss asked again not stopping, stepping backward.

Ms Darcy nodded looking at the man standing still at the door, glaring back with amusement.

“Don't shout, but he is not him. I know his eyes, he's someone else. He is clearly not him”, the girl mumbled against her ear as they nearly reached beside the shoe rack.

But both froze when the man started talking slow steps toward them, still not taking his eyes off them.

His hands carelessly tucked into his pants pocket.

“I'll count to three and then we will throw shoes or anything on him and run back to lock ourselves safe and escape through the secret channel, remember we know this house better than him. Don't let him catch you, little miss. And don't wait for me.”, Ms Darcy spoke to her as she protectively hid her whole existence behind her.

“Three”

“Two”

“One. Run, little miss”.

Ms Darcy threw the first thing came to her hand while made him cup his eye as it directly striked his left eye.

The girl grabbed the large vase from the shoe rack as he approached them quickly this time, she broke it on his head which made him hold his head while falling on his knees.

“Run, little miss.”, Ms Darcy screamed again as she held tightly on the poker she found beside shoe rack, but before the girl could run, the man Immediately held on her bare ankle still groaning because of pain.

The hand he used to hold her ankle was stained with blood, his blood. The girl struggled to run away from him, but his grip was way more tighter.

Ms Darcy hitted strongly on his same arm with poker, making him release her with a loud cry.

The girl ran upstairs with uneven breathing, heart palpitating, and tears leaving her soul.

“Hannah, you will regret when I'll catch you.”, she heard loud groaning cries of the man who disguised himself as him.

No one can be him.

She knew every particle of him, how could this stranger even think about faking up to him?

Hannah ran faster and faster locking herself inside her room as she opened the side cupboard with trembling fingers.

The cupboard opened into a secret passage. She ran inside not before closing it behind her. She knew that she left Ms Darcy behind, but she knew, Ms Darcy knows how to fight.

But still she felt it wrong to leave her behind. For once, she stopped running, she turned back looking at the dark passageway only lit by side torch flames.

But then she heard loud approaching foot steps echoing somewhere which jolted her heart even more from fear.

She ran down without looking behind, as finally reached out through empty basement, descending downstairs leading to the empty dark road.

The wind collided against every molecule of her body, but she couldn't stop.

The thin fabric of her night dress hugged back to her skin as wind embraced her harshly, trying to stop her from running.

But she cared less, she couldn't care, not when someone was chasing her. More approaching loud footsteps grew closer to her, which felt almost like fading noise because of the rust of night wind.

She ran barefooted, ran for her life, ran to survive.

Her hair strands trying to sooth her by covering her face as they dangled, flew, swirled along with her in air.

“Hannah, stop before I lose the last string of sanity I have within me.”, the man groaned now somehow clearly audible.

But before Hannah could turn back to spot him, someone else pulled her aside the main road towards an vacant park hiding her behind the large bushes.

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Chapter 2

...“She is frequently kind,...

...And she's suddenly cruel.”...

Hannah looked almost amazed the moment she saw the person who pulled her to vacant park.

It was Ms Darcy.

“Young miss, we have to run before he catches you again.”, Ms Darcy said in low tone while her breath was spiked up, face covered with fear and panic, but still she tried to be brave for her young miss.

“But where will we go?”, Hannah asked her eyes already draining down.

“I have somehow contacted Mrs Blair, we will be rescued by somehow for sure, but til then we have to hide somewhere safe.”, Ms Darcy spoke through panic while her gaze still not living the vacant road.

Hannah wanted to argue, she wanted to say so many things, but nothing actually came at that moment.

She turned her head back to ensure that he was no longer behind them.

She cannot let him catch her not when she has tried to save herself all her life now.

Ms Darcy held her wrist walking to the vacant, distorted store.

She opened the half ajar, broken wooden door entering the dark store. Hannah looked around to abandoned store which used to be the book store at her high school time.

Fresh tears swelled up in her eyes, but they didn't prick from panic or fear, but they glittered at the memories of back days.

Back then when she was a carefree high school girl. It was all before she caught the attention of neighboring school's student.

He was not a mere student, he was the son of one of elite social circle of their society, but she didn't know at that time what she was really going to face in the future.

“Young miss, you should hide yourself somewhere safe.”, Ms Darcy pulled her under the cabinet while herself, still standing, guarding the place.

“What about you, nanny?”, Hannah asked in worried tone, while the knot grew more and more tighter in her throat.

“You don't have to worry about me. Just hide here, and no matter what happens, don't come out, Little miss.”, Ms Darcy spoke in hurry but at the end of sentence something changed in her tone.

She used to call Hannah ‘little miss’ when she was a little girl, but now she was not, things has changed. She can't let her handle everything all alone.

She will no longer hide. She has to face the demons of her past. Thinking this, Hannah gazed around the dust covered bookstore. When her eyes stopped at a sickle. She gulped twice, turning her gaze back to Ms Darcy who was standing near the cracked door, eyes fixed outside, shielding any possible danger.

That was when she heard approaching footsteps from outside. Hannah, herself doesn't know what came to her that she held on the sickle laying down and took measuring steps towards the door.

“Young Miss!”, Ms Darcy screamed as the man fell down on ground with a loud thud, his eyes closing as he tried to take a deep breath.

“What you did, young miss? Why you did it?”, Ms Darcy exclaimed in agony with her hands covering her face in shock. Meanwhile, Hannah stood lifelessly in front of the body which was bleeding, blood oozing from his shoulder.

“He isn't that man, young miss!”, Ms Darcy stated with the realization as she took a closer look at the face.

She turned her gaze to Hannah who was standing still her eyes fixed at the half dead man's face. But then she saw Hannah kneeling down trying to keep the man awake as she shakes him firstly gently, then vigorously while tears staining her pale face.

“Please, wake up. Please, don't die.”, Hannah kept shaking him but the man, his eyes kept flickering even though he was trying his best to keep them open.

Tears kept falling down her face, but She didn't care to wipe them. Ms Darcy kept standing, so shocked to even react. That was when they heard the sirens of ambulance and police cars.

“Young Miss, please get up. We have to leave before they see us.”, Ms Darcy tried to pull Hannah away, but she didn't bulge a bit.

“Please don't die. Please, don't close your eyes. Please stay with me just for a bit. Just wake up.”, Hannah kept mumbling, robotically.

She tried to tap his cheeks with trembling hands, her hands now stained with blood, his blood alongwith the colour marks of before on her hand. That was when the cops approached them.

They surrounded her with bullets, with announcement to not move, the ward boys came closer, taking the body away from her. But she didn't feel anything, she didn't feel them approaching.

All she could feel was void numbness. But the moment, she felt something cold wrapping around her both wrist, she flinched with realization.

Realization of killing someone, just now. The cops locked handcuffs around her wrists, pulling her up on her feet harshly.

Ms Darcy kept denying that it was not her young miss, but no one cared to listen to her. Hannah didn't protest or try to explain herself. She wasn't sure what just happened in front her.

Her eyes were glued to the man who was now laying on stretcher as the ward boys held the stretcher and placed it inside the ambulance.

Don't know what came to her that she ran towards the ambulance, making the cops run behind her.

She ran without caring, the strip of her nightdress falling off her shoulder. Her already ruined dress, now stained with blood as well.

It was hard to distinguish between the red color and the red as actual blood. Her cheeks that were stained with red color earlier now soaked with her colorless tears.

Her skin that was covered in colour stains earlier now actually stained with someone's life.

Hannah tried to block the door of ambulance from closing, but the cops held her back tightly. She struggled into their grip. She yelled at them to leave her, to let her check on him, but none cared to give her a listen.

“Please let me go. He's dying, please let me go”, Hannah cried out helplessly. At that moment, she couldn't see the young almost dead man, but her father.

That moment took her back to the time of her childhood where she was just a small girl trying to free herself, so she could run to her father, run to her dying father. She could not picture the young man, but her father's lifeless face.

“Let me go... My father. Can't you see he is seriously injured. Let me go.“, Hannah pleaded with hope, but they didn't hear anything.

“Miss, please corporate. Don't force us to take strict actions against you for your non-corporation.”, one of the officer said in loud voice.

“Take this lady. Put her in the car.”, the other officer ordered to those who were holding her.

“She literally killed his brother. Now none can save her.”, the other officers whispered amongst each other.

“Please let me go. Please”, Hannah tried to push the officers away, trying to knock them off with her knee when her eyes stopped at a figure coming out of car which just stopped on the crime scene.

A tall man dressed in black pants, black leather jacket came out, his eyes instantly locking with her. She felt all the air knocking off her lungs.

She felt an invisible urge to hide, She didn't want him to see her like this. Never like this. She immediately lowered her eyes, her arms and legs going almost dazed. She took steps back, trying to hide her already small figure behind the officers.

Because he was none else, but Cillian Allister

Cillian Allister.

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