Disclaimer: I do not own Hellraiser or any of its characters or objects. They are the property of Clive Barker.

Author's Note: This is my first fanfic, but I've been meaning to write one for a while. I came up with this idea a few years ago and this story has been written and rewritten numerous times, with slight plot changes. I present it to you now, in what I believe to be its prime. I'm a firm supporter of constructive criticism, but let's not be assholes about it, folks.

Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 1: The Arrival

Victoria Isle furiously crumbled up the piece of paper and tossed it across the room with a vicious screech. Her task complete, she slouched on her stool and crossed her arms, scowling at the stained tabletop before her. The rest of the class, who had stopped in unison to watch the brief spectacle, had returned to their work. They all knew what had infuriated her so; some snickered about it under their breath. The bell rang, signaling the end of another day within the confines of the high school. Victoria remained where she was as her classmates dashed for the nearest exit in a frenzied stampede. Dimitri Tatarescu, the art teacher, sat down in the stool in front of the distraught girl.

"You know what happened, I assume?" Victoria asked, slowly looking up at the man before her.

"Indeed," he said in his thick Romanian accent. "It is most unfair, but all occurrences involving our dear Adrian tend to be."

The Adrian he spoke of was Victoria's closest friend, a flamboyantly gay young man with an overall amiable disposition, but with a rather short temper due to the inability of those around him to accept his sexual orientation. The occurrence in question took place in the locker room after P.E. and involved a group of football players, numerous violently homophobic slurs, and a well-aimed punch to the face that resulted in Adrian being dragged into the principal's office and being suspended for ten days, along with possible legal repercussions for breaking the quarterback's nose. The group of boys who started the scuffle wasn't even given as much as a verbal warning.

Dimitri was a Romanian immigrant from Bucharest. He was a young dark-haired man fresh out of school. It was his first year at this school. He'd immediately taken a liking to Victoria and Adrian and they to him. He tried to use his authority to protect them, well mostly Adrian, from the unfair treatment they received in the school, but his lack of seniority worked against him. He was still an outsider amongst the faculty.

"How can they get away with all the shit they do to him?" Victoria asked. "It's fuckin' ridiculous!"

Dimitri moved around the table and put an arm around the distraught girl.

"In time everything will work out," he consoled. "Something will happen that changes everything."

"You always know the right thing to say, Dimitri," Victoria said, smiling.

~[ ]~

Victoria walked through the front door and headed toward the stairs. She just wanted to lock herself in her room and be left to her thoughts.

"Tori, honey, is that you?" her mother yelled from the kitchen.

Victoria sighed, "Yeah, Mom. It's me."

"There was a package for you in the mail today."

Her mother came out of the kitchen and handed her a small, square parcel.

"What the fuck is this?" Victoria muttered.

"Watch your language, missy!" her mother scolded.

"Sorry, Mom," she murmured as she headed up the stairs.

She tossed her school bag on the floor of her room and shut the door behind her. She flopped down on her bed, the mysterious package in hand. The outer wrappings were void of any kind of marking that could've indicated where the package came from. They only bore her name. She tore off the paper, only to discover that the plain cardboard box inside was just as barren as the paper that concealed it. She slit the tape that held the box closed and peered inside. She removed the contents, confused. It was an intricately decorated puzzle box, made of some kind of wood and covered with what appeared to be gold plates.

Why would someone send me something like this? This thing has to be worth a fortune. Victoria thought.

She stared at the box, turning it over and over in her hands. For some reason the box was making her uneasy. It seemed to resonate with an eerie, unnatural aura. She continued to gaze at the gold-plated surface, mesmerized by the patterns on its six faces. What was it? Who had sent it to her? A sudden knock at the door made her jump.

"Tori, dinner's ready," her mother said from the other side of the door.

"Okay, I'm coming."

Victoria stared looked back at the box. She shook her head at her own foolishness. It was just a puzzle box. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary about it. She put it down on her bedside table and went down to dinner.