Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

19. Memories

Daphne feels like she's floating, surrounded by clouds. Soft and nice and warm. Whatever bed she's in, it feels like heaven. The golden sun hits her skin and pleasantly embraces her. She doesn't want to get out of bed. She smiles into the pillows. It smells familiar somehow, like...

Her eyes shoot open and she jolts until she sits up straight. Her heart's beating in her chest as she processes where she is. This is her father's bedroom. At least, it used to be. The furniture is different, the wall color is different, everything it's different. Yet... It's his room. His old room. Where is she? Is she...?!

Suddenly, she remembers the driver. What did he do to her? Did he drug her? How long did she sleep? She grabs onto herself, realizing she's wearing the same clothes that she did when she left Avengers Tower. She steadies her breath and looks around a little calmer. The room looks so incredibly familiar, but at the same time it's extremely different from how she remembers it. She grew up in this place. In all fairness, being in her childhood home like this, is freaking her out. It's blatantly obvious that another family now lives here. And she's in their bed.

She slowly gets out of the bed and notices that whoever put her there - she assumes the driver - did take off her shoes. She carefully places her feet on the cold, wooden floor. She tip-toes around the room, looking for her footwear. When she finally finds her sneakers, she quickly puts them on and ties them tightly. She gets up to walk to the hallway.

The entire house is quiet. She softly and slowly walks down the hallway and into the living room, trying not to disturb the psychopath who brought her here. The furniture is set up way different than she remembers. It puts her off to see the house she grew up in like this. The memories she and her father made here were nice and warm like the dream she had, but she now knows that dream was fabricated somehow. To keep her under. Or at least it was something like that. She's unsure how to describe it, but settles for 'unnatural'.

After carefully examining the entire house she gratefully concludes that the driver is not actually there at the moment. Time to get out and run. She groans as she remembers that there's a gigantic field surrounding the house. If the driver were to see her, he could probably track her down in no time. She gets to the front door. She has to at least try and get out. Let's hope her memory on how to get to the neighbors is still fresh enough...

She twists the knob. He didn't lock the door. She pulls to open it, but suddenly a hand appears next to her head, shutting the door harshly. She twists around scared, and presses herself against the door. Daphne stands eye to eye with the driver. He hovers over her, an intense look in his bright blue eyes. He's no longer wearing his uniform. Instead, he's wearing black leather, with some sort of coat reaching down to his knees. Silver and green shapes cover the leather to create an intricate design.

"Please stay a little longer, Daphne," He says with a grin. "I haven't gotten my apology yet."
"I'm sorry!" She blurts out. The driver lets go of the door and steps back, laughing out loud.
"Not from you, dearest." He turns around and walks to the kitchen. "You have nothing to be sorry about." He waves his hand and she hears the door lock behind her. She stares at the knob with wide eyes. Did he just...? "Breakfast?" he asks simply.

She just stands there, wide eyed, staring at the man who just used... Magic?
"No, thanks," she whispers.
"Oh, come on." The driver smiles. "I promised Peter I'd take good care of you and I am a man of my word." Peter. She looks at the long hallway rug on the floor, trying to collect her thoughts. "He wouldn't stop calling your phone, so I figured I'd let him know I won't hurt you."
"Where's my phone?" she asks hesitantly.
"In one of my many pockets." He holds out the sides of his coat. "No sleight of hand will help you, though. It's hidden very well." He raises his eyebrows at her and smirks as he disappears into the kitchen.