Nightmare at Club X

Chapter 2

     Dominique came back out of the dream state and felt breathless. She also still felt the desire that Rose had felt. Her machine was working. They had been in too long and Post was shutting it down. So the dream hadn’t been able to be finished. She looked over to Melissa.

     “Well, you’ve seen one of them. What do you think?”

     “Wow. I felt like I was there even though it was just like a vision I was watching. Damn girl. You have a very vivid imagination. Are all of them like that? Was that even the whole thing?”

     “No. Some are longer. Some are shorter. Some are kind of rough. But I never get to see that guys face. It’s always blurry. And the dreams are so real. I know the girl lusts after him. She thinks he’s gorgeous but I can’t see him. I can only assume it’s because I’m not dreaming about anyone in particular. But when I wake up, I feel the exact same way she did in the dream.”

     “Hmmm.. Makes you wonder. I guess it’s time to go then since you didn’t get to finish?”

     “Yeah. The test run is over. Back to reality. I guess we ran over the safe time limit since I can feel myself being woken up for a lack of a better phrase.”

     They closed their eyes and let their minds go blank. When they opened their eyes again, they were looking at the visors of the helmets. They each stepped out of the booth and walked over to Post.

     “Well, how did we do?” Dominique asked Post.

     “Pretty good actually. Times are getting better as to how long you can stay in and not have a major glitch happen. I’m thinking a few more changes and we should be good to go. They can stay in for the two hour time limit you set. Question is, is two going to be enough?”

     “It’s going to have to be for now. If it all goes well then I plan on building more. But I don’t really have any more money to sink in to these things right now. The club is doing well, but you never know how that can go. And if they aren’t a success then I would be stuck.”

     “You know these are going to go over big because you can do whatever you imagine and it’ll feel real. And with all the nasty stuff people think of now a days but may not want to actually do, well, you get the drift,” Post said. 

     “Yeah, I get it. That’s why I wanted to create this. So many people want or crave something they can’t have. If you can’t have it for real, why not have it for a time? Is it better than never having it at all, who knows? Guess we’ll find out eventually.”

     They went down to the club. It was almost time to open. Dominique took pride in her bar. It was two stories and decorated the way she wanted it with a kind of gothic design. The house band consisted of her, Post, and Melissa. Post on the drums, Melissa on the guitar, and Dominique as the singer and keyboard. She wanted a base guitar as well but hadn’t auditioned anyone just yet. They also had open mic nights for the people who liked to sing. Most nights they played a mixture of r&b, country, pop, and rock. There was something for everyone. 

     Post was her maintenance guy when he wasn’t playing. Melissa was one of her waitresses. Dominique did a little of everything when it was needed. She was getting ready to have to replace Teddy, her bartender, as she was getting married and her soon to be husband wanted her to stay home. She hated that she was losing her as she was excellent at her job and had such a great personality. But she had also just found out she was pregnant. Dominique couldn’t blame her for not wanting to be in this type of environment while pregnant. 

     Don, her bouncer, was walking through the door as she reached the bar. She waved to him and walked up to the stage. She set the playlist and ran some songs through to make sure everything was working properly. She sat down and sighed as everything was finally ready for opening.

     At the end of the night, Dominique sat in her office going over the tallies for the night. It had been a busy night. She was tired from checking on everything and mingling with the guests. She sat back and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she was asleep. Once again, the dreams started. 

     Rose was afraid of what the knight would do but she would not allow him to see it. She lifted her chin and looked him dead in the eye. She knew his look. Many a man had lusted after her body, but none wanted to put up with her sharp tongue or the arrogant way she was. 

     “I will not let you do anything without a fight. I refuse to be a concubine. Not even to the great Sir Nathaniel. If you wish to punish me for speaking my mind, so be it. I can not stop you, but I will not lay down like a dog and let you,” Rose spat at him.

     “You really do not understand your place in this world. Or you simply wish to die. I think it will be interesting to have you around no matter what I decide.”

     He grabbed her arm and started walking towards the small house that her and her father shared. She opened the door and called out to her father. His weak voice broke her heart as he called back out to her. He hobbled out to the front room and the warm smile disappeared as he saw the knight. 

     “Sir Nathaniel! Welcome to my humble home,” her father said as he bowed to the knight.

     “Thank you. I came to discuss your daughter,” Nathaniel replied.

     “Please, have a seat, Sir. What has my daughter done?”

     “This afternoon I was riding and I came out of the woods at a speedy pace. Your daughter was knocked down and her tongue had some sharp things to say. When we arrived here, it was no better.”

     Her father looked at her. This was not the first time something like this had happened. But this time it was much worse as Nathaniel was a knight. Punishment for speaking out of turn to him could mean death. Nobility was very harsh when it came to that. Rose looked back at her aging father and could only plead with her eyes for forgiveness.

     “I must apologize for my daughter. Pray tell me what I can do to correct this grievance?”

     “I am going to take your daughter. She will work for me and learn humility.”

     “Please, I can not leave my father. He is sick!” Rose pleaded.

     “Rose! You do not speak unless spoken to. Leave the room. Now!”

     Rose looked at her father but he had such a cold look on his face. She left the room and went to the small room that was hers. The house was too small for her not to be able to still hear everything that was being said. What was she going to do? She couldn’t leave her father to die. And there was no one else to take care of him.

     “Sir Knight, I humbly apologize for my daughter. But I beg of you not to take her. She is the only child I have. I have no other family to help me with the farm. Is there no other way to appease this wrong?”

     “No. I will not have her whipped. Seems a pity to mar such beautiful flesh. She will be my personal servant and whatever else I see fit. This is not a request. I shall give you one week to say your goodbyes and to find someone to help you. I shall come back and collect Rose. Know this. If she is not here upon my return, you will be punished.”

     “I have no one to help and I can not afford to pay for help. I will have her here in one weeks time. This farm was to be her dowery. My Rose has never been with a man as she has too sharp a tongue. There is a young man interested but Rose begged me not to marry her off. I love my daughter and have given to much leniency to her since her mother passed. I suppose this is my fault for not showing her the true ways of the world sooner. I do not wish to think of her as a mans concubine. I would rather die and so I shall soon enough. With no one to help the farm will go to shambles. Will you take the farm? My illness will take over soon enough once Rose is gone. I would hate to see it go to waste.”

     Nathaniel thought about it. Nothing wrong with owning more land. But it sounded as though Rose’s father was offering him the dowery for his daughter to be married. Knights married other nobility, not peasants. He had to admit that he wanted to break the girl for his own pleasure but he did not wish to marry her. 

     “No. I do not want the land, just the girl. I will make you a trade. I will send you a farm hand in her place. Once she has learned her place, I shall bring her back.”

     “I am afraid I will never see her again. She is very strong willed, like her mother.”

     Nathaniel rose and said, “One week from today, I will return.” 

     Her father nodded and looked towards the little hall Rose had went down. Nathaniel followed his gaze and saw Rose standing there. She looked most unhappy. She looked at him and held her head high. She would not be broken without a fight. Nathaniel grinned. He would break her down eventually but he also did not want to. He wanted to see the fighting spirit as he bedded her. The women he had in his bed would do anything to please him. Most just layed there until he was finished. He had decided. She would be his in every way. 

     He grinned at her and her face became angry. Rose felt as though she was dying inside but she would not allow herself to cry. She had changed in to her riding gear. She always rode whenever any emotion overtook her. She watched as he looked her over and saw her wearing a mans shirt and pants. The look on his face was one of surprise. However, she did not care at this point what he thought of her. Nathaniel left and Rose got ready to go ride. 

     Rose went out and saddled up her favorite horse, Winter. He was black as night and beautiful. Once he was saddled she got a top of the horse. Thomas, the boy who wanted to marry her, came along. She told him she did not have time for him and left. She did not see the man that was watching her as she rode away. Thomas went inside the house to talk to her father about the events that had went on. He had heard about the knight bringing Rose into the village on his horse. 

     Rose ran Winter at a fast pace, trying to rid her mind of the thoughts there. Why did the knight want her? She knew lust when she saw it. What would he do to break her? How much could she fight before he had his way with her? Would he actually bring her back home if she broke? Could she play the part of a broken woman to have him return her? Her thoughts turned traitor as she thought of his body, his beautiful eyes, and his strength. Did she want to fight him? She did not want to be his concubine, but her body betrayed her as it tightened in response to the lust she felt. 

     Her father had taken her to see Sir Nathaniel be knighted. She knew who he was. His reputation in battle was frightening. His reputation with women was worse. Rose knew why that was so. The man was beautiful and even at 16, he had been. Even her 13 year old mind comprehended that. She had told her father that day she wanted to marry the knight. He had been gentle but firm that a peasant such as she would never marry nobility. Now, here she was, about to be taken from everything she had ever known by that same knight. 

     Rose slowed the horse and trotted to the lonely grave on the property. She dismounted as she had before but this time, she heard something in the woods. She looked at the trees but saw nothing. She walked over to the grave and cleared the leaves and weeds. She sat down on the grave and started talking to her mother as she did every so often when she needed an ear to listen.

     “Mother, I miss you everyday. I know it has been too long since I have been to visit. Your daughter is a fool but you knew that. My words have again brought down trouble on to my head. I am being taken away. Surprisingly, by the knight I talked to you about many moons ago. He is handsome and he knows it. I know his station is greater than mine, but I have never been able to settle in to my place here. Am I like you mother? You were always so brash and father loved you for it. You married for love, not station. You ran away from the life you had always known to be with him. Your family were not peasants. I remember the stories, Mother. Am I destined to live a life without love? Am I paying the price for your sins? Has God decided to punish me for you leaving the Dukes side? I am so lost, Mother. What am I to do?”

     Nathaniel hid in the woods. He had tied his horse to a tree and walked the rest of the way to watch the girl. Women did not do the things she did. He had never seen a woman dress as a man to ride a horse. Women always rode side saddle and none knew how to saddle the horse. She had so much spirit. He watched and she sat on the ground and began to talk aloud. Her mother. The grave belonged to her mother. He had often gone to visit his own mothers grave after she had fallen ill two years ago and passed. He understood the longing for your mothers love and embrace. His father was a harsh man and his mother had always been a gentle woman. Once she had passed, Nathaniel’s father had become a drunk. Nathaniel had always thought his father had fallen in love with his mother, even though it was an arranged marriage. 

     He listened as she talked and what she was saying made no sense. How could her mother leave a dukes side? She was a peasant and peasants did not marry dukes. Nathaniel was next in line to be a duke. He was also not allowed to marry a peasant. Something about this girl felt different to him. He wanted her as any man would want a beautiful woman but something about her, made him want more from her. Could he really break her? Did he want to? He needed to find out more about her. He watched as she began to cry and laid on her mothers grave. So she was not all spitfire. There were other emotions as well. He wanted to see them all. He would get his chance. He walked back to his horse and mounted. He rode back to the village to make some inquiries.

     Dominique groaned as she woke up in her chair at the office. She had a major crick in her neck. What was up with these dreams? And why were they hitting her like this? It was like she passed out immediately so she could start dreaming. And they were so vivid that it was like she was there, living it. She chuckled to herself. Yeah, she was dreaming of a past life. That’s what it was. She was going crazy. After all the s**t she had gone through in her short 25 years and overcome, now she was going crazy?

     She sighed and stood up. After stretching, she grabbed her things and went out the back door. It was so bright out. She was used to sleeping during most of the day and being up all night. She looked at her phone. It was 12 noon. She’d slept in her chair for 7 hours. No wonder she had a crick in her neck. She drove home to her private place. She didn’t like neighbors so she’d bought a place on five acres of land. Her house wasn’t huge but she didn’t need much since it was just her. 

     She walked in and went to her room. There she got clothes and took a shower. Once she got out, she sat down and went online. She had to post the bartender job online and start the hiring process. She still felt tired. Probably because the dreams were taking over her sleep. They were so vivid that it felt like she was actually experiencing it. Was she half in, half out of sleep? Was that the problem?

     She decided to write on her story. She always took a nap before she went to work anyway. Hopefully, she would actually get to sleep and not dream. Maybe if she wrote the dreams down she would stop having them? She opened a blank document and started writing.

     Hours later, she shut down the computer and went to take her nap. She laid down and prayed her sleep would be dreamless. It didn’t take long for the dream to start back up.

     Nathaniel went to the village and started asking around about Roses family. Most of the villagers only knew that her and her father lived on the little farm. They had no other family. Her mother had been a kind woman. All of them told him to go see the old woman that lived on the edge of town. Roses mother had visited her often. 

     When Nathaniel arrived to the old woman’s hut, the door was already open. He called out and heard a voice tell him to come in. He walked to the small table near the fire and heard shuffling. The old woman came in to view and he saw gnarled hands holding what looked like a necklace.

     “Hello, good knight. I’ve been expecting you. Took you longer than I thought it would. But Nanny sees all and knows somethings take longer than others.”

     “What are you talking about, old woman?” Nathaniel asked.

     “You seek answers about a certain young woman. I knew her mother well. She paid me to keep an eye on the future for her. She was always scared her past would come back to claim her and her daughter.”

     “Her past? What do you know of her past?”

     “l know a great deal, good knight. I was paid to remain quite about it. For the right price I may talk about it. And do not even think of threatening this old woman as I can do quite a bit more than see things,” the old woman said, looking directly at Nathaniel, who had been thinking about telling her she would tell him or he would jail her.

     Nathaniel sighed and pulled out a bag of gold coins and threw it on the table. He wanted to find out more about Rose who had peeked his interest more than any other woman ever had. The old woman beckoned him to a chair that sat beside a cauldron. He sat and she stirred whatever concoction was in the pot and it started to change in to a scene. Nathaniel watched, fascinated at what was happening before him.

     A young man was bringing flowers to a young girl. They were smaller children. He picked them for her everyday. He was not allowed to speak with her as he was just the son of a farmhand. But she always snuck out of the castle to speak with him and so they could play. One day as they got older, she came to him crying. She was to be married off to an old man she did not love. He held her close and told her he loved her. They made plans to run away. A few days before she was to be married, she snuck out with jewels in a bag and met him at the river. He had two horses packed up and waiting for them. 

     They rode the horses hard trying to flee their home. The next day, they traded the horses for new ones. They kept running until they had at least a two day lead. She would give the jewels away to buy supplies. They finally settled down and stopped running when they were half a world away. He looked for work and after a year, she gave him a jewel to buy their own land. She felt like they would be okay where they were. She had found a seer and was told her future was secure. The Duke of Levies would not find her. In fact, he had broken the treaty with her father and attacked. 

     Her fathers army was strong. They had defeated the duke and took over his lands. The Duke of Shirely had not looked for his daughter. She had broken the treaty with the duke and was dead to him. Her mother wanted to find her daughter but was not allowed. She had never given up hope that one day she would return. 

     The young girl gave birth to a daughter a few short years later. Nathaniel watched as scenes skipped through the years showing a baby transform in to a young girl and then eventually show Rose at her mothers grave. She was mourning the loss of her mother as she continued to touch the necklace she wore. It had an insignia on it. The necklace looked like something only royalty would have. He watched as the scene changed again to show him running in to Rose. He then came out of his trance.

     Nathaniel felt like he had been holding his breathe. He took in a big gulp of air and looked at the old woman. She held out a ring that had the same insignia on it and was jewel encrusted. He looked it over. He had never seen anything like it before. He wondered how far this Duke was.

     “It will do you no good to search for the Duke. He is long since dead. He died in a battle many, many moons ago. The Duchess is alive. Mary is no longer alive. What use would it be to seek the Duchess out with her being gone?”

     “Peasants can not marry royalty. Perhaps I would simply like to know more about Rose,” Nathaniel replied.

     “You wish to know if you can own her. She will not break the way you want. Her mother did not raise her to be a wife and mother that would do whatever her husband wished. She raised her to be a strong young woman who could flee if she must. Mary was always worried that she would be discovered one day. Roses sharp tongue was not something Mary withstood. Mary would put Rose in her place. Daniel, Roses father, was not the same. He was always too soft hearted when it came to his only child.”

     “I will break her and send her home. I do not wish to own her. Was merely intrigued by her story.”

     The old woman laughed and walked away. He called out to her but she didn’t answer. He searched the little hut but found no one. She had disappeared. Nathaniel turned to go and saw a piece of paper on the table. He opened it and read what was written there.

     “Your future has already been written. Tell Rose not to fight her future. Fight it and it will end badly.”

     Dominique awoke with a start as her alarm went off. She groaned and cut it off. It was night time out her window. Time to get up and start another night. She sat and thought of the dream. She hadn’t had that one before. They usually skipped around and the one she had the most was of Rose and Nathaniel having s*x, which made her blush thinking about it. She got out of bed and went to work.