The Cat and The Canary~OC x Daniela Dimitrescu

Chapter 7

The next two nights felt like an eternity, the sounds down in the darkness with me getting closer and closer as the hours dragged by slowly. I scanned every corner I could, but I couldn't see what was making the noises, whatever it was hiding where I couldn't see from where I was chained up, and Cassandra wasn't much help either, merely telling me that it wasn't my business, and that the creatures knew not to touch me. When the time came for me to be let out of the chains, I practically threw myself into Dani's arms, shaking, burying my face in her neck. I calmed down, feeling her arms wrap around me, and she quietly told me, "It's okay, Elaine. I promise.. I won't let anything hurt you." I felt ashamed of myself, feeling like I was acting like a big baby, but I'd never done well with the dark, even in my cage, not that I'd had much choice, so being stuck down in the darkness for two nights mostly alone scared me.

I followed her to her room, the fear slowly fading away, as I slowly sat down on her bed, her scent flooding my nose, somehow calming me down completely, and stayed quiet, not really sure what to say or do, remembering what she'd said about sleeping with her. I could see her glancing at me every few minutes nervously, fiddling with her hands like she was scared, but I didn't know why, unless she didn't know how to.. Sleep together, either. After a really long time of nothing but silence, I finally decided to just do my best. I was her maid, right? If I upset her, she might get rid of me.. She might be nicer than most of her family, and talked to me more, but she probably still expected me to try my hardest to do what I was told. My lips connected with hers before she could even move, and a surprised squeak came out of her, but she didn't shove me off, so I figured I was doing pretty good, considering I had no idea what I was doing. I flinched, forcing myself not to jerk back, as her arms wrapped around the back of my neck, feeling her fingers sliding through my hair, and then, felt my heart skip a beat weirdly as her lips moved back against mine, sending heat through my body.

I moved my lips to her neck, right below her jaw, and heard her make a noise that sent shivers down my spine, my fangs lightly pressing against her skin. I didn't know why I could hear her breaths speeding up, or why her heart sounded like the hummingbirds that sometimes flew near the trees outside my cage when it was warmer weather, but as my hands carefully pushed the fabric of her cloak off of her body, revealing nothing but silky undergarments, she jerked back. Her hands forcefully shoved against my chest, knocking the air out of me as I went flying backwards, landing catlike on my hands and feet on the floor, tears instantly welling up in my eyes, as sharp pain shot through me with every breath. The pain wasn't as bad as the shock, though- I didn't understand what I did to make her react so violently, as I heard a low growl tear out of her throat. "I- I'm sorry. I thought I was doing what you wanted me to.." I moved backwards, as she stormed towards me, getting off of her bed. "What? I never told you to do that!" I felt my heart sink in my chest, wrapping one arm around my side, coughing as it hurt when I moved, every breath still agonizing.

It was stupid, but I was scared of her right then, her golden eyes full of anger, her fists clenched at her sides as she glared at me, and I felt my whole body shaking. As the tears slid from my face down onto her floor, her eyes went wide for a second, the anger fading a bit, and she stepped closer, causing me to back away again. "It won't happen again, okay? I didn't understand.. I thought that's what you meant by sleeping with you. Please- Please don't shout at me again, Dani." I knew if she attacked, even with my strength and speed, I could hurt her, but she'd probably win in the end, having a room full of sharp objects she could use on me. "I would never hurt you-" Her words caught in her throat, as she looked where my hand was covering my side, the color draining out of her face. "Shit.. Elaine, I-" She reached towards me, and out of instinct, I snapped at her with my fangs, causing her to move away again. I glanced at my side, and grimaced, looking under my shirt, seeing the black and purple bruise spreading across my rib cage, my ribs cracked in several places, two of them feeling broken. "It was an accident, I swear. I just didn't want you to see me.. I didn't want to hurt you."

I hissed in pain, feeling one of her icy hands pressing against my side suddenly, calming the swelling that was starting to show. "I should've explained it better. I just meant sleeping in the same bed as me.. But I should've known that-" I moved her hand away, and looked down. "Known what? That I'm stupid? All I knew about sleeping together was when the others in the cages mated with each other.. I thought that was what you wanted, and when you didn't stop me, I thought it was okay. You kissed me back, Dani- You didn't tell me I was doing things wrong.. And then, instead of telling me you were uncomfortable, you broke my ribs. I thought we were friends, but we can't be, if we don't trust each other. You know my secrets, but you're hiding things, and that isn't fair." I slowly stood up, ignoring the pain in my ribs, used to feeling far worse from the man that ran the freakshow, and grimaced, feeling them healing pretty quickly.

I grabbed a pillow and blanket from off of her bed, and tossed them on the wooden floor, curling up in a corner on my makeshift bed, and closed my eyes. "I think it's better if I sleep down here. I don't want to do anything wrong again.. Don't worry, I won't touch you like that again." All I heard for a few minutes was silence, and then, Dani quietly said, "Maybe I want you to do it again. Maybe I- What if I told you I liked it?" I didn't answer, thinking she was just trying to trick me, or get me to climb into the bed with her, as I heard her lay down, and then, her breaths evened out, telling me she was asleep. I didn't understand why my chest ached at the distance between us, or why I felt so betrayed by how she'd acted before. It wasn't like I hadn't known that she and her family could be violent, even towards me, but Dani- Dani hurting me hurt more than when Alcina or Cassandra had done it, and I didn't know why. I turned over, looking at her sleeping form, and felt worry flood my body, as I could see her shivering, climbing to my feet, and carefully lit a fire in the fireplace in her room, though that didn't seem to help her very much.

I glanced over at my makeshift bed, then at Dani's bed, and groaned, snatching up the blanket and pillow, setting them on her bed, then flopped down beside her. Instantly, she snuggled against my side, causing me to flinch, as her icy skin touched mine, but- The ache in my chest slowly began fading, seeing how peaceful she looked in her sleep, her red hair falling across her face, her pale skin illuminated in the candlelight. I couldn't stop myself from brushing the strands of hair away, and sighed, wondering what I was doing, and why I felt so horrible about the things I'd said to her, when they were true, seeing how hurt she'd been making my heart wrench painfully. I kept stroking her face with my thumb, noticing the tiny scars and faint, tiny crystals shining on her skin, almost like the snow on the ground outside. She was.. Beautiful. I shook those thoughts out of my head, and closed my eyes, wrapping my arms around her, protecting her from the cold drafts the best I could, and slowly fell asleep, feeling her heart beating in rhythm with mine against my chest.