The ghost story of the city of London told her to never go to the top of the hill, to the mysterious, old castle called Forbodium.

Many said the castle was haunted. Others said there was a monster. Some spoke of a murderer that lurked in the stone halls, an old executioner that thirsted for the blood of victims who trespassed. It was a beast wanting the thrill of a kill or a phantom seeking vengeance for various wrongdoings of the people in fair London.

That's why the Mayor, Justin Lawson, had made a strict rule to not enter the castle grounds. He wanted his people safe and he made sure no one even mentioned Forbodium Castle. He always had a trustworthy guard standing at the rusty metal gates.

At least, he usually did. Today, Sniffer noted, the rookie officer, Meekins Jr, was on duty. The boy was a nervous wreck, marching from one end of the gates to the other. He would occasionally peer up at the top of the hill, at the dark clouds looming over the stone building, and whimper. Finally, the group could have their newest member go up to the castle.

Dustin and Florence snickered, pulling their latest addition forward. "'ang on! I thought t' Mayor said no body were allowed up there! T' guard will see me! I can't go or I'll get in trouble!" The young brunette protested, fighting to get out of the duo's grasps.

"Nah! This is Meekins we're talkin' 'bout! The kid's 'fraid of 'is own shadow!" Explained Dustin. They continued dragging her toward the castle Forbodium. Sniffer ran ahead to distract the rookie guard so Lucy could sneak in.

Lucy knew that Forbodium Castle was dangerous, and if she was ever caught up there, she would be in huge trouble. She couldn't get in trouble! She just moved here! Why did she talk to these three?

"Alright!" Florence declared, "Up you go!" Together, the two helped Lucy up on top the wall. She was forced up and over the concrete barrier within seconds, without alerting the guard.

"'Member!" Dustin half-whispered to her, "You 'ave to stay t' night int' castle! An' don't worry! There ain't a monster!" His reassurance was not at all great.

Personally, Lucy was shaking in fear. Fear of getting caught. She was still new to this town, and unsure of how it worked. She agreed to this only because she thought the dare would be something else. Like pranking one of the teachers at the university or the principal and his daughter's odd drama friends. Lucy didn't fancy the Makepeaces and personally wished they had let her do that.

Nope. Instead she was creeping through the tall grass, hiking up the large, cliff-side hill. All this to spend the night in a bloody castle with a bloody murdering ghost that probably didn't even exist. "Wot a load of… I can't believe I'm wasting my time 'ere. As if anyone believes somebody were actually dead int' castle." Lucy huffed, rubbing her forearms from a cool breeze that blew by. Florence mentioned that she traveled up here once, saw nothing, and went through it with just a nasty cold from all the dust in there. There was a bed somewhere, in a specific room were apparently a dead body was found on it. She was supposed to sleep there and see the ghosts. Flo told her it was a lie, nothing there but window drapes flapping from the broken glass letting wind in a lot. She even recommended taking them for extra cover, it could get really cold in there.

The doors were unlocked, and Lucy couldn't even stand the fact that she was doing this. She wasn't scared, just annoyed that anyone believed any of the jokes Forbodium had for legends. She read better out of her more cheesier mystery novels, her interest and passion in life. She'd pick out every lie in this poor excuse for a crime scene.

The large, wooden double doors creaked open, then after walking in, shut behind her on their own with that same, old noise. If this was a prank, she was giving someone a Lucy-Lamping. The foyer was quiet, dirty and yet kept a classy atmosphere. "By 'eck, at least t' monsters could tidy up a lil'." She joked, pretending to be disgusted by the grime as she walked up the musty steps. If she remembered correctly, Forbodium had the ground floor with a grimy kitchen and a shabby living room. Then two floors above with rooms, closets and apparently a few trap doors and a dumbwaiter that supposedly brought severed limbs or roasted human livers. Whatever that meant.

The room Flo told her about was on the second floor and was connected to the dumbwaiter. The sick girl never found any bodily organs or limbs, just an empty, unused mini elevator. Lucy was searching the halls, only the glow of the moon through the windows lighting her way. There were melted candles lining the walls, thankfully unlit but basically worthless. She passed door after door, like she was at a hotel looking for her room number, when she saw it.

The door that read, 'The deathbed to all who sleep in this room.' It was scratched on very painstakingly, like someone really wanted to make a point. Lucy wasn't phased. She knew this was it, though, because it was plainly open for anyone to just waltz right in.

Florence was right. It was quite chilly in the room. The drapes Lucy was told about weren't even on the window though, or the bed for that matter. The bed was made, too! Maybe just the others trying to make her believe the stories. No one lived here. "No murderer. No nowt. Now wot then?" She jumped onto the bed and felt the springs push her back into the air. "Not a lick o' dust. I wonder why… This place isn't 'aunted." She scoffed and curled up into a ball.

The ceiling was covered in dust, and no light up there either. Just a perfectly untouched candle by the bed on the nightstand. "That weren't anything sus. No way." Her voice was just filled with sarcasm as she moved her head to the pillow. It wasn't night, just a little past dusk. She could be at her dorm, resting in the room with her favorite Sherlock Holmes books or just having a chat during dinner with her roommate, Florence, about the different ways to murder someone without a weapon. Lucy had a light fascination with murder mysteries. They had a certain flare to them, just knowing when you got the criminal right in the corner, stumbling to make an alibi. It was exciting.

Lucy should have at least brought the largest book she owned to pass the time until midnight. She was obligated by her new friends' nagging to stay up that late and witness a strange happening. A madman was supposed to appear out of nowhere somehow and try to kill her.

"Can t' place get any dumber?" She groaned, shutting her eyes for a moment. Maybe she could pass the time by perfecting that chase scene she imagined herself in. When she finally got a job at Scotland Yard and lived the dream of tracking down criminals.

She awoke to the sound of a door squeaking. Her red eyes shot open and her body tensed up, but then she remembered where she was and what she was doing. Was it midnight? She must have fallen asleep waiting for the moon to rise. Here they come, Dustin wearing some crummy mask and waving a flashlight under his face, Sniffer wiping his body all over the floor from rolling around and laughing so much, and Florence smirking and sneezing a lot from all the dust floating around.

She sat up and rubbed her right eye, a soft yawn slipping out of her throat. Something moved in her peripheral vision and she smiled when she saw it. Hiding in the shadows was a tall, lanky figure, maybe one of the older students at the university, unsure of whether or not they should be near her. "'ello." She greeted, shifting over to the metal bed post. Strangely, his eyes were glowing like someone had placed two small pieces of glittering gold in them. He didn't move, only stared at her in fear and disbelief. She giggled. "Well , I think t' joke's over. You can come 'ere." Lucy smiled as he did and with the light of the moon she saw him better.

He had dull purple-ish, wavy hair, a bit of stubble on his angled chin, and a large pointed nose. His costume was a large, smudged, white lab coat with yellowed newspapers stuffed in the large pockets, a red and blue shirt underneath, blue pants that went down to his ankles and normal sneakers. This man was definitely from her era. No question. His shocked and nervous expression just appeared ridiculous right now. The joke was over. He didn't need to act anymore.

"My name's Lucy Baker. Wot's your name?" She asked with the most innocent of smiles.

He put a hand on the bed post, near hers, and leaned towards her. It was like he had never seen someone like her before, at least this up close, in years maybe. All he did was stare. Like she was something amazing to behold, which was just getting annoying.

She frowned. Deciding to just end this now, she got out of the bed, stretched a bit, then took the hand gripping the bedpost firmly. "Come on then. We should go meet up with t' others and we can just chat about-" She began walking towards the door, but was stopped abruptly by her new acquaintance. When she turned her head back to see what was wrong, she felt his grip tighten around her fingers. "'Ey. Stop that. It 'urts." Lucy requested with a light whimper. She tried loosening his slim fingers or hopefully releasing her hand by prying them off, but his strength was amazing despite his appearance.

This man lifted his other hand, the left, and placed it over both of hers, then moved it to her cheek. He ran two fingers through some of her locks of hair and tilted his head to the right. A grimace formed from his curious look and in it, Lucy saw two long, pointed fangs protrude from underneath his upper lip. He opened his mouth a little and started closing the distance between them.

Our brave little lass was terrified. What was happening? The prank was done! This was all a ruse to scare her and it was over before it started! What was going on now then? She was frozen in place, like a deer in headlights, and unable to act by the mere sight of his possibly real fangs. They couldn't be, but they were too perfectly designed not to be. They were real, this moment was real, and he was a real monster. All her mind could say was 'no, no, no' over and over until he was by her neck. She could feel his breath on her skin sending chills up her spine. The shiver finally woke up her nerves and she screamed.

This startled him and he jumped back, freeing her from his hold.

Lucy took that sweet bit of freedom and ran for it. He was real! She felt the light poke of his actual fangs on her neck! For the brief second that felt like minutes, she could feel them there. All she could do now was keep going as fast as her shoes could take her. The many doors passed by her like blurs almost and the stairs down couldn't come and go any quicker.

On the first floor, she ran to the end of a hall and turned right, now beginning to try and open any door that she saw. One, just one, on the left, the knob loose so she just pushed the wood aside. There was a clicking noise and the floor under her disappeared. The trap doors! They were real too! Her shrieks pierced the empty sound in and around Forbodium Castle.

She landed on one of the couches in the living room on the ground floor. Dust kicked up and fluttered through the air, frightened off by the suddenly presence of the poor lass. She coughed and spit out, not wanting any of that in her mouth. Lucy searched the area for any sign of that man, so when she didn't see him, she got up and ran to the foyer. The large entrance doors loomed over her now as she pulled one of them. Neither would open. "No! Please! Someone! Anyone! Open t' door!" She yelled, frantically pounding on the wood.

Footsteps were soft on the marble floor. A sigh as soundless as a whisper. A pale hand landed on the scared female's mouth. "Calm down." Was the first simple suggestion the man placed in her mind. When she obeyed, he murmured his second order into her ear, "Sleep." His other hand covered her curious crimson orbs and let them close. He felt her body relax into his arms. "Good. Let's get you a better place to rest, though." Alfendi said, picking Lucy up bridal style and carrying her off to one the more comforting beds is his wonderful little prison aptly named Forbodium Castle.