It was red everywhere. The dark room she had once feared was no where in sight, she was surrounded by the bloodiest red. It looked as if it oozed down in big fat drops, the sight made her shiver.
Doris stood and looked around the area. Part of her was well aware that she was dreaming-she had to be. But the other half wasn't so convinced. It felt real. She felt as if she was there, seeing every inch of this massacre.
Was it blood? No, it couldn't be. There were no bodies, no sense of life around her except-
Her hands were covered in it, as were her bare legs. She wore a torn dress as if she had just come from a bloody wedding. A diamond ring even sat on her ring finger. When she tried to take it off, she heard a sharp laugh behind her.
"Doris...."
A voice called from the shadows. Doris hesitated before she stepped towards the sound. "William? Is that you?"
"Oh, I know you wish it was..." The voice hissed. Doris stopped her steps and tried to move back, but there was now a wall behind her. "Your groom is waiting at the alter for you, what are you doing here?" The voice asked. She swore it sounded like William, but also-it didn't sound like him at all.
"I don't know what you're talking about-"
"Sure you do. It's all you ever wanted, isn't it? William gave up his throne for you." The voice sounded as if it was now behind her. She quickly turned to see fresh blood seeping down the walls. "It's for the better, he would have killed everyone if he had become king."
"That's not true, he's a good man." Doris backed away from the bleeding wall and fell right into a pool of blood. She gasped as she tried to swim out of it, but the edges stretched on.
"He already killed two of his brothers, I'm not sure I would consider than a good man." The voice laughed.
Doris tried to get out of the blood, but it only pulled her further in as if it was an ocean.
"Where do you think all the blood came from?" The voice said against her ear. Doris screamed and was pulled down to the bottom of the bloody pool.
Suddenly, she was sucked through the bottom and dropped into a strange room. It appeared to be some sort of funeral from all of the black. Doris slowly calmed herself before she stood up to see what was happening. She passed rows and rows of people dressed in more black but had no faces, it sent a chill down her spine.
"They were so lovely, I assure you they'll be missed..." The voice said. Doris turned in every direction to try and catch him, but there was nothing but more and more empty faces.
"Who will be missed?" Doris asked. She looked around for a sign of who they all came to mourn.
"Can't you see?" The voice whispered by her ear and shoved her towards the front. There were four caskets, and each held a face she knew well.
Doris screamed when she saw the dead faces of Beth, Martin, Daniel and Enzo. They had their eyes closed and hands crossed over their chests as if they were in a peaceful sleep. Doris collapsed next to Beth's coffin and tried to wake her.
"Oh, she's gone. She tried to stop you from marrying the prince so he ripped out her heart." The voice said. It almost sounded as if he was happy. "In fact, I think they all tried to do that. They all tried to talk sense in you for wanting to marry the prince. Or, former prince."
"He didn't do this! He would never kill Beth!"
The voice made a noise of disapproval. "Love is blind, but you are perhaps one of the worst cases I've ever seen."
"Why do you sound like him?" Doris screamed. She put her head between her knees and tried to force herself to wake up. The sound of loud steps made her body tremble. When she looked up, William was walking towards her in a crisp suit.
His hands were shoved deep in his pockets and he looked down at her with some sort of pity on his face.
"Come on, wife." He held his hand out to her, it had blood all over it. "It's time to go."
"Don't touch me!" Doris screamed and scrambled to her feet. He tilted his head as he watched her. "Why would you do this to them?"
"You're my mate. I own you and they only tried to break us apart." William said. He spoke so nonchalantly and she realized it didn't sound like him at all. It was as if something deeper was speaking inside him and he was saying the words along with it. "Come now. Let's go before it gets too dark."
"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Doris screamed. A flash of anger covered his face as he started stomping towards her. Doris moved back and suddenly, William stopped dead in his tracks.
His blue eyes were red now. They widened and he gripped his heart. Doris watched as something looked as if it was ripping out of him. It tore William in half and all Doris could do was scream and watch her worst nightmare come to life.
She collapsed to her knees and crawled over to him. The creature that came out looked like a wolf, but also didn't.
"You-you belong to me!" It screamed.
Doris woke up with William pinning her to the bed.
"Doris!" He shouted over her screams. She thrashed under his hold and he refused to let her go. "Calm down! It's just a dream!"
Slowly, her moves halted. William had her wrists pinned against her bed and he looked utterly exhausted as if he just went through a fight with her. The images of her dream were slowly fading away, but she still saw a hint of dead faces in the back of her mind.
Her breathing calmed after a few minutes. He loosened his grip on her and cautiously let her go. "Are you... okay?" He asked when she finally calmed down.
Doris nodded and went to sit up. He moved off her and pushed her hair back behind her ears to take a better look at her. His hands were warm as they gripped her face, she wanted to melt into them and hope the dream melted too.
"Why does it feel so real?" Doris whispered. Her voice was so small, even to her own ears. William frowned and pulled back a little.
"It's the side effect of taking the blood. I don't know why everyone reacts this way, but they do. I only gave you a few drops" He dropped his hands. "You don't look pale anymore."
"How long was I out?" Doris asked as she took in his new clothes.
"A day. Enzo is still out but he occasionally screams." William brushed his hands across his front. They come away clean, no hint of blood on him.
"Are the dreams supposed to...mean something?" Doris asked hesitantly. She sat up a little and he placed another pillow behind her.
"No. They're usually meant to play on your inner fears. Usually things that don't see the light of day often and make them a hundred times worse." He handed her a tall glass of cold water. Doris swallowed in in large gulps. It felt so good going down her throat.
"What were your dreams?" He asked and seated himself on the bed again. He watched her closely and she wondered how awful she must look to him.
Doris hesitated. "I don't remember much of it just-a lot of blood. I almost drowned in a pool of blood. I think it was supposed to be the blood of people I care about."
William nodded slowly when she offered no other explanation. "How are you feeling now?"
"I feel... fine. I don't feel like I'm going to throw up on you, if that's what you're wondering."
The side of William's mouth twitched a little. She would do anything to see him smile. Had he ever truly smiled at her? She couldn't remember. If she had money, she would pay everything she had just to hear his laugh every day.
Doris reached out and touched his lips gently. He froze at her touch and she only smiled at him.
William's eyes flickered to her mouth. He drank in the sight of her smile and suddenly she had a strange feeling of home. Could a person be considered home?
"I'll get you something to eat. You must be starving." William let his lips pull up a little further and she held her breath. How could she capture it forever? If only she knew how to paint, then she would do just that.
He stood from her bed and walked out the door, leaving her with her leftover horror.