Memories of Paradise Ch. 01

"This is delicious..." she muses, with the expression of a starved animal.

"You really think so? I feel I never enjoy it as much as I should. The girls do a great job, it's just... Let's just say I've had better."

They spend some time eating together. He tries to engage her in conversation, looking rather amused at the girl's obvious attempt of hiding how much she's enjoying the meal. However, he soon discovers that if there ever was someone difficult to get out her shell, it's Val.

The small blonde offers only a little information about her job at the hospital, and almost none about her. When it comes to hobbies, family, or life, she insists she doesn't have time for any of those, that she's a busy woman dedicated to her work. Nothing too personal or noteworthy is said. He avoids asking her anything about the previous night. She avoids asking him anything about the girls.

The meal doesn't take long, but the effect it has on the girl is profound. A good thing. It's what he's been hoping for. Life changing news and offers are always best delivered when the other person has eaten to their heart's content. It's a lesson learned a long time ago. And it's one she gets to experience as soon as she puts away her last plate and, with a polite smile, asks if he'll take her home.

Julian's warm smile fades away. Rather than replying, he decides to show her a video. At first, she stares at him confused, but as she watches, her face starts falling.

A news media piece, telling the story of an old building in the middle of the city that had gone down engulfed in flames during the night. It mentions how every single person inside was burned alive, as all the exits were blockaded from the outside. It's not just any building they're talking about. It's her home.

When she thinks it can't get any worse, the video mentions her by name. The police are looking for her, since being the only resident who didn't burn inside, she is now suspected of starting the fire.

Julian turns off the video and attempts to explain.

The metal door in the alley, turns out, wasn't some storage room or anything of the sort, as she had thought. It was a gambling club, frequented by the Black Bone Gang.

And the people who had assaulted her? Members of that very same gang. Too drunk and excited, the rest of them had perhaps not noticed what was going on outside, or maybe they simply thought it was one of the back-alley fights they were used to. Eventually though, the club has got to close, and when it did, and they started heading back, they noticed the bodies of two of their guys lying on the ground.

From that point, it's easy to figure out what had happened. He had rescued her but had forgotten about everything else: the torn clothes, her bag... all scattered in the ground. It wouldn't be difficult to track her using those, and once they found out where she lived, they had wasted no time burning it down.

If she were lucky, that would have been the end, but since it made it to the news, it was now widely known that she hadn't die in the fire, and that meant they too would be looking for her.

Initially she sits in silence, in hopeful denial, begging for this to be some kind of dark joke. It's not possible to have that kind of bad luck. She raises her eyes to him and can barely muster half a question. Julian responds that when he found out about the fire, he tasked Jennie with investigating.

Val's face goes completely pale. She buries her head in her hands in order to hide her pain. Even for someone who takes pride in her resilience, it is too much to handle. She doesn't understand how life can be so cruel to her. Her eyes are stinging but she doesn't want to break down crying, not again.

All she was hoping for was to be able to go back. As if losing everything she had, humble as it might have been, was not enough, now there's nothing to go back to, and she's not nearly naive enough to think she will be able to simply rebuild, not while being the target for both the police and a gang.

For the first time in her life, she truly doesn't know what to do next.

A stroke of luck then, that Julian is there.

"You'll be alright."

He says it like she just broke a nail. As if he hadn't just spent ten minutes explaining her how her life has gone to hell.

"Don't do that. Don't lie to make me feel better."

She appreciates the gesture, at least she would've if she could feel anything other than blinding frustration. But she's not the kind of person that wants pretty lies. She wants things to get better, for once in her life at least.

"This is the opposite of alright. What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

Julian doesn't seem one bit worried.

"Well... you definitely won't be able to go back to whatever it is that you had, that's for sure. You could leave, I suppose. Wouldn't be easy, but you look like a scrapper.

Or, you could let me make you an offer. You could stay here. It's the simplest option and there's no better place on earth."

It takes only an instant, barely enough for her brain to process the proposition, and the response comes out without even the slightest consideration.

"No."

Julian nonchalantly shrugs.

"Fair enough," he exclaims without pressing the issue any further, then goes to pour himself a drink. Val observes perplexed.

"So... that was it then?" she shouts, indignant, "That's why you helped me? You wanted me to be part of your little collection?"

"Must they be mutually exclusive? I helped you because you needed help. I'd do it every time, regardless of anything. Now you're here, and I'd like to keep you. You're so cute that it would be a shame to see you go."

She looks at him like she just heard the most mind-bogglingly absurd thing in the world.

"You're insane."

"Only in the good way," he replies in the middle of a chuckle.

His reaction doesn't calm her one bit.

"And here I thought you were actually a good person... All of what you did... it was just to drag me down to your little world, you..." she pauses as a strange thought crosses her mind, "You planned this, all of this, didn't you? So that I would have no choice but to stay..."

It's the kind of accusation that is supposed to offend, but Julian instead produces an odd kind of smile. A combination of surprise, confusion, amusement, and pride all in the same gesture.

"Are you asking whether I planned for you to be in that alley, at that hour? Whether I sent the Black Bones after you? Baby, I'm flattered, but I'm afraid I'm not the criminal mastermind you take me for."

"That's what you would do, wouldn't you? Make me think I'm going insane. That everything was somehow one unlikely coincidence after another ending with you of all people showing up one second before I get raped. That you were just a stranger with a red string tied around your ankle, so that I'll fall into your arms."

"A red string tied around my ankle..." he repeats to himself in the middle of a light chuckle.

"Yes, darling. I'm afraid that's all there is. And like I said, it's just an offer. Don't feel like you have to accept if you don't want to. Besides... look around. Do you really think I'd need to do something like that?"

She raises from the bed, flustered. Her mind, a whirlwind of emotion she can barely express.

"You're toying with me, aren't you? You are the kind of person who takes pleasure in mocking people and being cruel to them when they are at their lowest... Or are you seriously that much of an addict that you have all those sex goddesses and you still want this... mess?"

Her tone a peculiar combination of confusion and contempt.

"What can I say? I like you. I think you're cute."

"Is there any woman you don't think is 'cute'?" she asks. Her tone once more seething with contempt at the thought of the nude girls from the previous night.

"Well, I have varied tastes, but you're the only one who's cute in your specific way."

She opens her mouth to tell him off, yet, to her shame, she finds the compliment actually landed. She can't remember the last time she received a compliment, not a real one. It's awfully frustrating how truly disarming something so simple can be. She mumbles incoherently for a bit before she can collect her thoughts.

"Why... Why would I even consider staying here?"

It's a question raised to the air, to herself, contemplating the absurdity of the situation, but Julian either doesn't realize it, or ignores it.

"Because I want you. And because I think you'll like it here."

"You don't know me! You don't know anything about me! If you did, you'd know why inviting me here is ridiculous. How can you be that arrogant to presume you know what's good for me?!"

They both pause for a moment and lock eyes. His blue gaze, strong and unyielding. Her green glare, challenging.

For the first time since they started talking, Julian actually looks to be taking her seriously. He offers her a drink, but she declines.

"Do you like your life? Because you don't look like someone who does. Of course, there's not much out there to be happy about, but even for those standards. You're lonely. You didn't lose anyone on the flames because there was no one there that cared about you, there was no one waiting for you at home. That's why you were walking alone in that godforsaken street in the deep of night..."

She tries to reply. She wants to scream to him that he's wrong, that he doesn't know anything, that she doesn't need him. But when she opens her mouth, she can't bring herself to say it, regardless of how much she tries to force the words out. She's too tired for hypocrisy.

"Let's be less lonely together. Can you really tell me you don't want things to change?"

She doesn't answer, but her expression is very telling. A little defeated, she flops back on the bed.

"What is it exactly that you want?"

Her voice is tinged with a strange curiosity that even she doesn't understand. Julian ponders for a moment before answering.

"You. All of you. I want to own you completely. I want to break you apart and put you back together. I want to discover every little quirk in you. I want to find out how much love you can take inside. I want to make you do things you never thought you'd do for anyone, and I want to make you crave doing them for me. I want to train you, teach you how I like things done; I'll reward you when you do well, and punish you when you make mistakes. I want to see you laugh until you cry. I want to see you orgasm so much your brain turns into mush.

I get it. It's a big offer. And you're a cautious girl. It's a smart thing to be cautious where you come from. But there's nothing dangerous or sinister going on here. This is just my little paradise. And it can be yours as well if you want.

Then again, if I'm wrong and you do like your life, just tell me where to take you."

Val stares silently, completely taken aback, unsure on where to even begin to answer him. The idea that she might genuinely be dealing with an insane person is ever present in her mind.

Ultimately though, Julian is not one who feels menacing or dangerous, not to her at least. It's the fact that she can't seem to understand him; how strange he comes across to her.

Insane, but only in the good way...

Finally, she lowers her head, overwhelmed.

"This is... This is all a bit too much to take all at once."

"Tell you what. Stay today, just today, as a guest, and give it some thought. You can tell me what you want to do tomorrow."

The golden-haired girl thinks for a brief moment, then produces a tired nod, a gesture born more out of her overwhelmed state than any genuine desire to consider his offer. At that moment in her life where she feels utterly lost, she wants at least the time to figure things out calmly.

"Could you at least tell me where I am?"

"My home, Rosethorn Manor. We're on the Emerald Coast."

She is not able to hide her surprise.

"You named your house?"

"No, that name has been around for a long time. If you stay, I'll tell you the story sometime..."

-----

"Hey there, Honey... " a sultry voice greets her.

On the threshold stands a gorgeous feminine figure. A girl dark as jet. Hypnotic hazel eyes softly and sensually looking down upon her. She stands there exactly the way she was the night before, completely naked, flaunting her toned body in the open, with a golden collar adorning her neck. The figure is a little older than her, perhaps the same age as Julian.

Before Val even has the chance to muse a hello, the stranger leaps happily to the bed and embraces her tightly. If there is something she doesn't lack, is friendliness. Val only somewhat reciprocates the embrace, unsure of what to make of the sight in front of her.

"Oh, don't be shy, sweetie," the girl gushes, her dark, sensual eyes sizing up the doll-like figure in front of her, "Aren't you a pretty little thing? It's so exciting to have a new girl around. We're going to have so much fun together, I promise."

Val doesn't respond. Like just about everything else in the manor, the dark girl comes across as bizarre to her. She simply manages to stare confused. Cammie can't help but laugh.

"What, you thought nobody would come to welcome you? Everybody is dying to meet you! All anyone could talk about last night was the poor little bunny that arrived in Julian's arms."

Despite being obvious, the description is so far from any mental image she has of herself, that it actually takes Val a moment to understand the dark girl is talking about her. Once she realizes it, she immediately huffs contemptuously, offended at being described as such. The stranger laughs playfully once more. Before Val can call her out on it, the ebony beauty moves behind her and, like a small child back in kindergarten, lovingly starts to play with Val's golden locks.

"I'm Cammie. It's so good to meet you, darling," the dark beauty tells her before planting a kiss on her neck.

"Val," she replies. Her voice every bit as dry and uncomfortable as when she introduced herself to Julian, but Cammie ignores it, looking obsessed with the beautiful plaything her master decided to bring home.

Val wonders why she even allows the dark girl to come close. A naked stranger so close to her that she can feel the warmth of her skin is not her idea of a friendly welcome. Nor is she comfortable with her kissing and caressing after everything she has been through.

Cammie is to her a contradiction. On one hand, she is much of what would normally repel her, from the overtly joyful personality to her pampered appearance. Yet, the girl is hard to resist. She expertly walks the line between sensuality and friendliness. She braids Val´s golden hair playfully as if they´re both back to twelve years old; just two best friends playing around, gossiping and crushing on boys. Her expression is so genuinely happy that it has an almost childish quality about it.

However, she is anything but a child. Her long legs wrapped around Val's waist, her silky smooth skin, her inviting breasts tightly pressed against her back, her delicate hands gently caressing her cuts and bruises, and her melodic voice all speak of someone who has mastered the art of beauty and sensuality.

It's no wonder why Julian likes her...

In a way, the contrast between them only makes the fact that he invited her to stay even more bizarre. She wonders if Cammie was always like that, or perhaps... that's what he turned her into.

It's what he said he wanted; to train her, to punish her, to reward her, to teach her. She wonders whether that's actually possible. Whether a girl can be trained, molded into that... a pampered little pet, just like Cammie. Whether she would allow him to do it. She wonders if that's what she is for him, a toy waiting to be trained.

As the thought festers more and more in her mind, Cammie's presence becomes more and more uncomfortable to her, her silky smooth skin like a piece of itchy fabric she longs to remove; her melodic voice like an acute screeching.

"Did he send you here to convince me?" she barks. Her eyes injected with a strange anger. Her voice recovers the hostile tone that has become so ingrained in her.

Cammie stops. She seems taken aback, though whether an expression of confusion at a strange and unexpected question or shock at the little kitten growling at her without any apparent reason, it's difficult to tell.

"What do you mean? Did Julian send me? Convince you of what?"

"Of staying."

The dark girl's expression looks so utterly, genuinely puzzled, Val is convinced she either truly doesn't know, or is the best liar in the world.

"You mean...You've not agreed to stay here yet? That's... really strange. I can't remember the last time he brought home someone who wasn't one of his girls."

She pauses for a moment, but her expression is not that of someone who is trying to remember, rather of someone who is trying to figure something out. It only takes a moment. She quickly recovers her lighthearted, playful smile.

"I'm sure he's just being nice. Last night must have been traumatic. I can't imagine it is easy to think straight after that."

She pauses once more. Her sensual demeanor returns. She runs her fingers softly over Val's injuries and plants another kiss on her neck.

"You are going to accept though, right?"

"No, I don't think so. I don't think this is for me."

Though her expression is much more lighthearted, Cammie looks just as puzzled as before.

"Not for you? Well, baby, I'm amazed. You must have it really nice out there."

Val opens her mouth to explain but stops. A part of it needs no explanation, only to look at both of them side by side. The other is too difficult to explain, and she doubts someone like Cammie would understand anyway.

But then, an odd realization. Cammie is truly the opposite of her, everything she would usually dislike. Why does it feel like it's Cammie who's done things right instead of her? The dark girl doesn't seem like she would ever trade places with her if she had the chance. Val is not sure she can say the same.

"You mean... you like it here? Truly like it?"

An amused, girlish giggle comes out of Cammie's mouth.

"You're a strange little thing, aren't you? Darling, I like sex, I like the lush life, and I like him. Of course, I do."

"But... doesn't it feel... cheap?"

The dark girl stops what she is doing in amazement for the third time. Her hazel eyes meet Val's. She looks at her like for the first time she realizes how young Val actually is. She looks like she is not sure whether the blonde girl in front of her is extremely naïve or just an idiot.

"As opposed to what? Falling in love, having a couple babies and a nice house? Except the world is not a place for that, is it baby? There's too much pain, too much destruction. People are too fragile. You're left with nothing but heartbreak. Julian, me, the girls... we're all kind of a big family. A strange kind of family but still. We laugh, we have great sex, we enjoy ourselves.... We are happy. What more could I want?"

She holds her gaze for a small instant more, until Val can't help but lower her eyes a little ashamed. Cammie gives her another kiss, one more soft kiss on the neck; the last one of the afternoon. She rises from the bed, and before leaving, invites the emerald-eyed girl to go to the beach with her and the other girls. Val declines, saying that she still needs to give some things a little thought. Cammie disappears almost as swiftly as she had shown up, leaving Val with the scent of her perfume.

-----

Nightfall comes, but Val's insomnia won't abate. She lays in bed staring at the ceiling. Inside her mind there's everything but quiet.

It's so deeply frustrating how something that should be so simple can get her so worked up. She blames the fire that took away what little she had and is now forcing her to consider staying, but she knows it's a lie. She would attempt to rebuild in any part of the world if she had to; she just doesn't want to. There's something about the manor, a strange quality that draws her to it, but that she struggles to put into words. It's like the place is frozen in time, like all the horrors of the last decade never touched it.