Author's Note and Ch. 1- Trouble in Paradise

Haunting Ground- Revelations: Inter Spem et Metum (Between hope and fear/ Part II) 2006-2012 by CoyoteLongshot

-UPDATE 1/2012-

To any of my former readers who may still be out there in fanfiction land, I would like to apologize to you for letting this thing fall by the wayside despite my many claims to the contrary. I haven't visited the site in a long time, and not only have I neglected my own story, but also my friends' stories, and I'm truly sorry about that. I started this story at a very busy time of my life, as I was just leaving for college. Ever since then, school and work have dominated all of my time (though I know after this long that's hardly a good excuse), and though it had always been a personal goal to complete this, looking back on what I've written I can't help but feel that it's not worth adding to, at least in its current state. Over the last 5 or 6 years, I've learned quite a bit more about creating compelling characters, sentence structure, dramatic pacing, etc. than I knew when I started this. I also feel that I could have incorporated the symbolism and inference present in Haunting Ground a lot better than I did. Despite my feelings about my writing ability, though, this story still has a special place for me, and each time I read it I think back to all the good times I had with the old Haunting Ground community, who inspired me to try this thing in the first place. It's to them that I dedicate 10 more chapters that I've had lying around for some time now. I've been holding back on publishing them in hopes that I would one day find myself up to the task of completing this story. Believe it or not I still want to someday if I can ever find the time to give the old material a proper overhaul, but I mean, it's been six years, there is literally no reason for me to keep these to myself anymore. I've skimmed through the earlier parts of the story and tried to fix the more egregious affronts to the English language. The new chapters focus solely on Daniella, and I tried my best to create a feeling of loneliness and isolation with them, leading to some pretty severe mental and emotional consequences for her. I'll warn you- It ends on a fairly depressing note, and one not at all intended to be the end of the story when I wrote it, but reading it now it seems somewhat fitting. Sorry to anyone who's disappointed by how I left it off. A huge thank-you goes out to anyone who ever supported or reviewed the story, and I hope it's been as fun for you to read as it has for me to write. The new content is chapters 31-40. Thanks for reading.

As always, Standard Disclaimers Apply.

Again, thanks to my good friends HazardousRaptor and CrimsonPromise, and to kawaiiRip, StuffedHewie, and Abigail Black, for reading/reviewing Part I and supporting me in this. It's good to know someone's enjoying it.

If you haven't, please read Part I (Alea Iacta Est) first. It's pretty old, so you may have to go searching through the archives. Note that this story gets into themes of rape and incest which may offend some readers, so ye be warned. Please review, and thanks so much for reading!

"Oh, innocent girl,

who stole your virgin pearl?

Oh, innocent girl,

a beauty too bright for this world..."

Trouble in Paradise

Maxwell Gray stood beside his small cottage, stretching in the glaring sun. By now they were already probably getting snow back in England, and he was glad to finally get some time away from the office. Due to the nature of his work, he usually did not get to go anywhere, and in his mind this little vacation was well deserved. He squinted up at beautiful green Mount Otemanu, the higher of the two mountains in the center of the picturesque island of Bora Bora. He lowered his gaze to the sandy beach, which was already spotted with people, whether they be businessmen on vacation like himself, tourists enjoying the sights, honeymooning lovers with stars in their eyes... it was the ideal vacation spot.

Gray was the head of the Security Service, unofficially but more commonly known as MI5, England's internal security and intelligence agency. This was only the second time he'd been on vacation since taking the position three years ago. Each day, he was in charge of the security of the entire nation, and it was as stressful a job as one would expect. Each day was filled with meetings, speeches, and new information. He was in charge of some of the most respected strategic and military leaders in Britain, and to have that responsibility lifted off his shoulders, even if just for a few days, was not only refreshing, but necessary. Now he was in a place where, finally, he could have time all to himself, not worrying about anything... or at least, that's what he thought.

As he was walking out of his bungalow and comparing the merits of scuba diving and tanning, he was suddenly confronted by his bodyguard, who stepped up beside him. Even in a place like this, someone as important as Maxwell Gray could not be too careful. He looked over at the guard, clad in a black suit and sunglasses, and nodded to him.

"Beautiful day, isn't it, Wayne?" he asked the man, who just nodded and grunted in response. "So what's going on?"

"Somebody has requested to see you, Mister Gray. He's identified himself as a member of the police force in Silverpool, and says he has some information that could be useful to you."

Gray thought, scratching his bald head. Why would somebody come all the way from Silverpool to Bora Bora to tell him something? Did they want to ruin his only vacation? Well, whatever it was this person had to say, it was obviously important. Hopefully nothing drastic had happened in his country in the two days he'd been away... but if that was the case, someone would have called him by now, or at least somebody who mattered would be coming to see him, not some small-time cop from Silverpool... something smelled fishy about this.

"What's his name?" asked Gray, looking suspiciously at Wayne the bodyguard. Maybe it was somebody he knew.

"His name's Stephen Rivers, sir. He said that he wanted to meet you at the Swordfish Bar at three today. I've been assured that this information is very important, and that it's in your best interest to obtain it."

Gray shook his head. He didn't know a Stephen Rivers. Whoever this person was, though, he'd come here for a reason, and so the least he could do was hear the man out, as strange as the situation was. So when 3:00 came around, he and Wayne walked into the bar, an open patio with a nice breeze, and saw the man sitting at a table. He was rather nondescript, brown hair, sunken eyes, the look of a man who never had much fun, and didn't smile a whole lot. But when he saw Gray, he did smile, and beckoned him over. Gray walked over to the table and sat across from the man, ordering a tequila from the scantily clad waitress, and looked Rivers square in the eyes.

"Why have you come here, Mister Rivers?" he asked. He wanted to get to the point, as he was still half-convinced someone was playing an elaborate joke on him.

"Well, first of all let me say that it's an honor to meet you, Mister Gray," the man said in a sibilant tone, extending his hand. Gray shook it briefly. "I've come to tell you something that could be of great importance to MI5."

Gray waited a moment, then said, "Okay. Well, out with it."

"I hope that upon receiving this valuable information, you may be able to find a place for me in your organization..."

Gray scoffed. "And why would I do that? What's stopping me from just calling and asking the sheriff of Silverpool about this 'valuable information'?

"Well," replied Rivers, smiling slightly, "He's trying to keep it from you. The whole department is trying to keep the government from finding out about this. If you don't hear it from me, you won't hear it from anyone."

"Okay, fine," said Gray, just because he was slightly intrigued. He didn't trust Rivers as far as he could throw him, but he came all the way here, the least Gray could do was indulge the man. "If I think this is as valuable to me as you say it is, I suppose something could be arranged."

"Good," said Rivers, nodding. He leaned closer to Gray, talking much softer now. "I was involved in the investigation of the murders at Belli Castle."

And from there, he told Gray the whole story about what they'd found, and what they'd been told to do about it. Gray left Bora Bora that evening.