Prologue

Belladonna

16 years ago

The closet is dusty. The dust crawls up my nose making it itch. I have done this enough times that I know not to make a sound so I hold my breath for as long as my lungs can take it before passing out and just as I feel my body giving out, I take in a long quiet breath, and I hold it again repeating this again and again. And I will probably continue for hours.

It is cramped in the closet-well more like a small dresser, even I can barely fit with my tiny three-and-a-half-year-old body.

I wriggle a bit to try and get more comfortable, but when I wiggle my elbow hits the side and the thump is loud. I freeze my terror seizing my body and my heart about beats out of my chest.

Nothing.

I breathe a sigh of relief. But that sigh allows the dust up my nose, and I sneeze. And again, and again. Then thunderous footsteps come towards me, and I know they heard.

The door opened and I fall forward on my face. The man who opened the door picks me up by my scruff and grabs my chin.

I tremble with fear. He clicks his tongue a few times before turning his head away from me.

"What have you been hiding from me, bitch!" He tells at my mom. "You will be punished. You deserve this."

He drops me down and shoves me roughly and I fall into the wooden bedpost, and I let out a cry of pain as my back is rammed into it no doubt leaving scratches and bruises. Then he grabs some rope and ties my wrists together behind my back to the bedpost. He ties my ankles together out in front of me leaving me sitting upright crying softly watching him and my mom as she is shoved to the floor, and he strips her. He then turns to my mother and takes off his belt and drops his pants.

I close my eyes in horror knowing what I will see. Then I hear a loud crack and know he struck her, wiped her with the belt. I silently scream in horror my mom who had always been kind and perfect was being hurt by a bad man.

After a while of what seems like a hundred strikes of the whip and the man chuckling the whole time. Then it stops and he goes to his knees, and I hear a slap of skin on skin and a scream from my mother. All that whipping and not a sound from her except breathing so to hear her scream is terrifying and enraging.

The rage I feel is all consuming. I hear some more slaps and grunts and I close my eyes and remember the good times with mom. Then I heard a loud groan I know it is over, my mom is gone. I let out a screech of rage and I snap.

. . .

Belladonna

Present

I stare at the wall blankly, pretending to find the ugly ass plain brown wall interesting. The woman in front of me sighs. She is in her forties with brown hair that is just starting to grey with smile lines all over her face. She is my therapist, has been for five years.

She knows if I don't want to tell her anything I won't, which happens to be most of the time-cough every time-, but I have to come to stay out of a mental hospital. My adopted parents are rich and like the idea of taking care of a special girl, so they send me to a therapist to "fix" me.

Such bullshit.

I look to the clock and see that my time is up. I stand and look down on the therapist, Dr. Greene, and tell her, "You know the drill, I came, and you tell my parents that it went well." I look to her threateningly and she nods unfazed, and as I turn on my heel and exit the room, I hear her call out, "You'll crack soon Belladonna."

I scoff and roll my eyes. I flip her the bird even though she probably can't see me. I walk out and hop on my white and blue Ducati.

I turn it on and love the sound of its engine purring and the machine vibrating between my legs. Pulling out of the parking lot my excitement grows and I go as fast as I can well over the speed limit and pull up my front wheel for a few seconds the adrenaline spiking through my nerves. I take a left turn maintaining the same speed while turning with my cheek about a foot from the asphalt. I love riding the backroads on my bike, when the adrenaline rushes through and the wind threatens to blow me off the seat, I feel free.

Free of the emotions of five people in one body, the memories of my childhood, and free of any physical restrictions-like I'm flying. After a few more bursts of speed, I turn as sharply as I can without crashing, my knee almost skimming the ground and drive to my house. I slow down when I get within a mile because if any of the neighbors see they will report me to my adoptive parents who aren't much of a fan of my recklessness as they like to call it, I like to call is semi-safe fun but whatever keeps me out of serious trouble.

I pull up and dismount before walking and going straight upstairs to my room. I sit in my bed and pull up a book one of my favorites, The Chemist by Stephanie Meyers. I read for a bit until I can see the orange light spreading throughout my room because of the sunset and I almost close the window. My adoptive parents call it my "vampire mode" as I keep it as dark as possible and I stay up all night.

I can't help it the night is much better than the day most animals know that too, well the predators (cool ones) anyway. I look out my window and see the full moon.

As I stare out at the glowing moon I get captured by the beauty of the night. I really love the moon and all of the night sky really. Something about it is just so perfect. I look and see the constellations that are brightest tonight. Ursa major, ursa minor, my sign Cancer, Leo, Corona Borealis, and Hercules.

I'm super weird if you hadn't yet noticed so I get out my tarot cards and shuffle. I think to myself, what should the full moon tonight bring? I only draw one card and I flip it over and find that I drew the World often symbolizing completion, end and new beginning, rebirth, new possibilities, learned lessons, and experiences.

My eyes widen and I blink, a major arcana. In tarot cards there are seventy-eight cards-twenty-two Major Arcana and fifty-six Minor Arcana. The major cards aren't common and mean something big will happen. I decide to draw three more to hopefully explain the World card.

I draw a Queen of Cups-love, support, healing, caring, sometimes weak. I flip the next one and Ace of Cups-new relationship, connected loving feelings, no-resistance. And I flip the final card a King of Pentacles-practical, healer, sense of security, reliability, control. Something big is coming. It makes my heart pound from fear or excitement I don't know. I crawl out my window and onto the roof to look at the sky. I close my eyes.

Benthesikyme

I open my eyes and stand there and stare at the sky for a while reveling in being in control. I continue to watch the moon in all its glory full and bright before the water calls me forces me to climb down to the ground and walk, I don't know for how long as time stopped for me walking where my instincts tell me staring at the moon and stars.

The sky is endless with bright lights from the stars and planets and moon. People say the night sky is black with white stars and claim it is boring, but it is really full of color, blues and greens and reds and purples.

With white, yellow, orange, and a few blue stars. I look to the moon my eyes drawn to it. I look around and I see a large clearing in a wooded area with a large pond that is dark blue with the reflection of the moon and bright stars, it was the most beautiful thing that I ever saw.

Walking barefoot through the soft grass I walk to the edge and dip my foot in the water feeling the cool water around my skin. I walk to the tree line, and I strip and leave my clothes on a low branch on a tree and wade into the cool water.

At first, I freeze at the chilling temperature feeling it sink into my bones, but I keep moving in until the water is up to my neck.

Soon my body adjusts to the temperature, and I dive under the water and swim around exploring the water. At first it is too dark for me to see anything, but my eyes adjust, and I look around the mostly clear water untouched by mortal humans. I kick down further and look around the sandy bottom and see some fish still up.

I swim up to the surface for a breath and when I breeched the surface I flopped onto my back and floated giggling while I stared at the sky and caught my breath before I went back under and played in the water in a way most kids would have-sans the naked part. I feel a pair of eyes but no sense of danger, so I assume some animal and just ignore it and laugh to the moon and swim to my heart's content.

Aconite

I walk around the forest after killing the last guy for tonight-a couple of hot shot gangster wannabes. I still have their blood all over me, I prefer to get more hands on and drag it out than a gun to the head-that is just so impersonal.

I walk around bored, but then I'm always bored unless I'm spilling blood. I hear a melodious noise coming from the west and cock my head before following the sound intrigued by it and I want more of it.

A strange concept to me. I have antisocial personality disorder or in fewer words, a true psychopath, I don't feel many emotions and like to be solitary. So, to want something, for something, to make my heart begin to beat faster, inconceivable concept. I still follow the sound and find a pond and see ripples on the surface but nothing that would make noise, especially not one as amazing as that. Then a head pops out of the water with long dark hair that looks…red?

It is hard to tell but then the person floats on their back and I can see her breasts. This captures my attention; she is so beautiful my cock jumps and lifts but that isn't what confuses me most.

My heart is ramming against my ribs trying to escape my chest and go to the woman and my breath catches and it feels as if my world just recentered around her. She is still giggling, and the sound is perfect and makes me equally want to hide and listen to it forever or run to her and figure out how to get her to make that sound for me, make it mine-make her mine.

I just watch and she dives back down under. I watch her swim and have fun until the sun starts to rise. She realizes it too, and her whole personality changes from carefree and happy to worried and uneasy. She walks out of the water and dresses. I realize she is going to leave, and I know I can't let her leave because I may never see her again. I walk up to her, and she doesn't see me until I am about five feet away when I clear my throat to get her attention.

She spins and stares at me, first looking at my blood-soaked shirtless form before meeting my eyes with a hard look as if assessing me and telling me if I try anything, she WILL kick my ass, and I believe it.

"I promise not to hurt you really and those creatures that this blood belonged to are better off dead." I say almost warmly with my arms raised. That is a new development, speaking nicely to other human beings and trying not to scare them. "I promise I left my weapons out somewhere in the woods, though I wouldn't mind you feeling me up to be sure." I grin jokingly and apparently trying to flirt.

She squints as to judge my sincerity before sighing and nodding deeming me somewhat safe. "I-I'm lost I don't know how I got here." She admits almost wincing.

"Sleepwalker?" I ask raising my eyebrow still grinning.

"Um-apparently?" She asks and it dawns on me a second later and takes all myself control-which has never been much-to contain my grin which would probably scare her off being as my only practice at it would be when I torture someone. She has a split personality or is a con artist either way she is just as crazy as me. I couldn't care less anyway-she would become mine-every part of her.

"Need help getting home or just into town-I promise I'm not a stalker." At least I wasn't- to much work-who knows what would happen if she gave me her address...

"I can help I should have my car around here and I know the area pretty well." I offer rubbing the back of my neck. Though if she got in "my" car, I may not be able to drive to her home but to one of my safe houses to lock her up-safe and mine.

I shake my head she isn't ready yet if I did that, she would never even like me let alone love me and though I'm a bad guy I couldn't **** her or probably anyone. She nods and I ask, "Do you think we could walk I'm not actually sure where my car is and if it has enough gas, plus you walked here you house couldn't be that far away?"

She nods and gesture for me to lead the way and I do I bring her into town where she should be able to find her way, though I really don't like the idea that she will be in town alone trying to find her way home.

"Do you want me to escort you to your house?" I ask trying to contain my hopefulness.

"Why would you know where I live? I can take care of myself." She responds.

I chuckle trying to sound light-hearted, "You got me. I just want to spend more time with you and getting to know you. So, will you go out with me tonight then instead?"

She stares at me in shock before she changes. Her eyes are slightly more dilated her face holds a sultry smirk. She held herself different too, puffing out her chest and cocking a hip widening her stance. She walks up to me swaying her hips and her voice which is more husky whispers in my ear, "I'll let you tag along but only if you promise that date will last all night long and my dessert is you."

Then she licks my ear and nips my earlobe before kissing and biting my neck leaving some marks. Though my eyes almost roll back into my head and my dick is doing its best to bust a hole in my jeans I try and keep my composure. Then her hand grabs my hard on and rubs it through my pants while the other is beneath my shirt exploring my muscles as they flex for her my body desperate to prove itself to her.

"As amazing as this feels-and I'm all for PDA-but I don't want to get interrupted or corrupt and children in a public place like this, maybe save this energy for tonight." I grit out fighting not to fuck her against the nearest-well anything.

She suddenly pulls back and steps back her face turning a cute shade of red. "Sorry, sorry. That wasn't me-er. Sorry-tonight." She squeaks totally different but definitely the same personality as the girl I walked into town.

"So-uh this is embarrassing but what is your name? I have a strange one, Aconite." I tell her almost sheepishly still grinning stupidly. She tells me this and I may become her stalker.

"What makes you think you've earned it?" She cocks her head and hip.

"Uh-it would be weird to go out with you and not know your name, wouldn't it?" I ask still grinning.

She sighs and turns, "Belladonna." Then she begins walking and I follow.

The entire way to her house I don't try and start conversation I just take in my surrounding committing them to memory and staring at her.

We get to a large house on the edge of town, and she turns on her heel towards me, "See you tonight. Be right here." She tells me before turning on her heel and walking around to the back of the house I wait a few seconds then go in the direction I saw her go but when I turn the corner she is nowhere. I look up and see her climbing onto the roof and my worry grows but before I can say anything, she disappears into I assume a skylight.

I shake my head at her, she's amazing. Brave and maybe a bit reckless.

She's perfect.