Mary was wandering in the hallways; she felt a lump in her stomach. She hadn’t meant to kill Brutus, but she knew that the dog could track her down. She did not mean to hit Greg either, but he was about to murder her. What was Greg even doing up that late, had he not gone to bed at the same time the others did?
Brutus was now a ghost, just like Dorian, and just like Dorian, he didn’t like it. He had growled at her as if he was a rabid beast after revenge.
Her mind jumped from guilt to the fact that there was going to be a ball and she was going to dance with Dorian Black. They were going to hold each other tight and dance to the sound of music. Would there be an orchestrate or would music just appear out of nowhere? Mary started dancing in the darkness, she wanted to practice and she didn’t want to seem like an idiot on the dance floor.
She thought that they would dance waltz, she had never danced the waltz before and was not quite sure how it went down. Nevertheless, she wanted to practise. She pretended that she held around an invisible man. She took one step forward then one step back, one step to the right, one step to the left then she twirled around. She did it again. One step forward one step back, then she bent backwards as she had seen women do when they danced in films.
Mary was not sure if she did it right at all. The other people at the ball would probably ridicule her for not knowing the steps. She knew that when a couple danced, the man guided the woman and Dorian would guide correctly; he would show her the moves gracefully.
She wondered what time it was, was it almost time for breakfast? Would she have to hide again? I hadn’t had any visions so far so people must still be in their rooms, thought Mary. She continued dancing, trying out different patterns and styles. She was trying out twirls, jumps and bowing as ladylike as she could muster.
Mary started walking around. She walked up the stairs, then down the stairs. She walked to the library to check out the different books. She climbed up the flimsy staircase in the library then down it. She didn’t have a watch nor a clock on her so she didn’t know what time it was, all she knew was that every second was a second closer to dancing with her soulmate. Mary walked to the dining room, she wondered whether she should have a bite to eat; she hadn’t eaten for a day but she was not hungry. The idea of eating made her less hungry. The idea of sleeping made her feel more awake; it was wonderful. She didn’t have to worry about getting fat or sleeping the day away. Her classmates had used to call her fat and her mother was always waking her up to go to school as if she needed school. The only thing she learnt at school was that people her age thought that she was ugly and horrible.
An hour passed with her dancing through the hallways in the dark. She was not disturbed by anyone or anything, it seemed like everyone was still sleeping.
She stood in a dark hallway when she got her first vision, it was of Doctor Wrath who was moving towards his bedroom door and she stood on the other side. He was about to catch her. Would he sound the alarm and try and catch her, or would he just knock her unconscious? She had to hide.
Mary opened another door and jumped inside the room only to realise that it was her mother’s bedroom.
Bella was sleeping in a king-sized bed. She could not stay there; her mother would butcher her if she found her. Mary heard the doctor’s door open, she had to hide it was now or never. Mary slid under her mother’s bed, she slid under with her legs first so she had a better view of the room. Oh no, she thought. She had forgotten to close the door.
The doctor knocked on the door before he opened it fully up. “We got work to do and breakfast needs to be cooked.”
Mary heard her mother moving in the bed then she heard her say, “You can’t just barge in, Doctor. What if I had been nude?”
“Don’t worry, I am happily married besides if I was going to cheat on my wife, I would do it with someone who doesn’t look like George Eliot.”
Bella sighed, it did not sound like she was going to dignify him with an answer, instead, she said, “Have you seen Mary?” She sounded firm but worried.
The doctor laughed scornfully; Mary imagined that he also rolled his eyes. “No, and if we are lucky, we won’t see her for the rest of the summer. Maybe she ran off and joined a circus. I am sure she could grow a beard if she wants.”
“My daughter is not a freak, Doctor Wrath. Now, I would like you to leave me alone. So, I can get dressed and if you are in such a hurry, you can cook the food!” said Bella in an angry tone.
“I am not a slave nor am I a servant. I am a doctor; I am part of the royal family. I am not your plaything, I am not here for you to unleash your anger,” the doctor said before he closed the door.
Mary heard her mother sigh then she saw her get out of the bed. I have to get out of my mother’s room, thought Mary. I have to speak to Dorian and you are wasting my time, thought Mary. She wanted to shout it at her mother but knew that her mother would catch her, get her out of the hotel and murder her.
Mary saw her mother’s feet; she saw her mother putting on her trousers, socks and shoes. Then she saw that she sat down on the bed again. Mary smelled her mother’s vanilla perfume, it was pungent and it felt like it burnt Mary’s nostrils.
Bella stood back up and walked towards her bathroom. Mary saw the bathroom door open and close; her mother was inside so this was her chance to escape.
Mary crawled out of her hiding spot and snuck towards the door. She got a vision of her mother coming out of the bathroom and she could hear the doorknob turning. Mary hurried to the wall beside the bathroom door. The door opened, and the light of a flashlight filled the bedroom. She heard her mother walking around the room. The bathroom door almost shut, and Mary could see her mother’s back. They were barely three feet away from each other.
Bella walked to the window and was about to take apart the curtains. Mary snuck inside the bathroom. The bathroom had a large mirror, a large painting, a white toilet, sink and bathtub. Mary climbed into the bathtub trying not to make noise.
The bathtub was deep, Mary thought it was a good hiding spot. There was no way her mother could find her now. Bella came into the bathroom, Mary did not dare to peek. Her mother did not gasp, sigh or scream so Mary thought that was a good sign.
“Hello,” said Bella. Mary’s heartbeat quickened up, and she held her breath. Had her mother caught her? Would she be dragged out of the bathtub, out of the hotel and then butchered like a pig?
“Mary, is that you…?” Bella asked. She sounded both sceptical and angry. Mary heard her mother’s footsteps they were coming closer, closer and even closer. In the end, Bella stood over the bathtub pointing her flashlight at Mary’s head. The light burnt her eyes; it felt like steam was about to come out of them. “MARY! Where have you been?” shouted her mother, angry. Bella grabbed Mary’s collar and said, “You are coming with me.” That was it; she was about to die. How could she escape? She had to see Dorian, she had to get out of her mother’s reach.
She looked around for something to fight with. There was nothing to grab except toilet paper which wouldn’t do much harm.
The light of the flashlight went off and darkness consumed them. Mary got up and tried to run but her mother’s grip around her collar was too tight. The shirt she was wearing started to choke her as she tried to run.
Mary grabbed the flashlight, she ripped it out of her mother’s hand and smacked it on her head knocking her down to the ground. Mary heard her mother falling into the bathtub screaming. Bella managed to grab Mary’s arm but without thinking, Mary hit her mother’s hand with the flashlight as hard as she could. Her mother lost her grip and Bella ran off throwing away the flashlight on the way.
She did not mean to hurt her mother, but she was going to rip her away from Dorian. Her mother gave birth to her, but Dorian was the love of her life; he would cross heaven and earth for her. Her mother would not do such a thing and she only cared about the twins; boys go first in the queue that was how it always went. Barry needs braces, Barry gets braces. Mary needs a new dress, then she had to earn the money herself. Ben needs new shoes, Ben gets new shoes. Mary needs a nose piercing, then she had to wait till she was eighteen but if the twins wanted to pierce their ears, well then, of course, Bella would pay for it.
Mary rushed out of her mother’s bedroom and then she ran into Logan who gave her a smile and said, “I think your mother wants to speak with you. I know parents are boring, but she wants the best for you.”
Logan moved towards; Mary looked around. He held his flashlight in one hand but he did not point it at her face, which she was grateful for. There was a vase on a table right next to a mirror. It was standing on a small table that looked frail. When Logan was close enough to grab her arm, Mary made her move. She grabbed the vase and smashed on the top of his head knocking him onto the table. Logan crushed the table and then he fell to the ground.
Mary started running, she had to get to Dorian and he would know what to do.
She did not want to hurt anyone, but she thought they should mind their own business. No one could keep her away from Dorian; they were destined for each other.
She hurried along the hallway; she was heading for the room with the old radio. If she met anyone else on the way, she would not hesitate to strike them down. This hotel was her home, she did not fit in anywhere else. She wanted to be the queen of Hotel Black and Dorian would be her king.
Mary got another vision of the twins walking towards her, they were only a hallway away. She opened a door to a room and hid inside it. The room was just like every other room; there were two beds, a mirror, and a painting. There was wooden furniture and a black jacket was sticking out of the wardrobe.
She pressed her ear against the door and heard as the twins passed by. She heard them laughing and insulting each other. When they had passed, she went back to the hallway and moved closer to her destination. She was close now, there was no one coming, and she did not have to hide. The door was at the end of the hallway, she ran towards it and knocked on the door before she barged in and said, “Dorian, are you there?”
There was no answer; he was not there. The curtains were closed so no sun bombarded her eyes and she sat down on the bed and waited. She sat on the edge of the bed in anticipation, hoping Dorian would talk to her soon.
“My luv, is that you?” a warm and loving voice said. It was Dorian, Mary was certain of it. She jumped and knelt down by the radio as her stomach did a summersault.
The buzzing of the radio was louder than ever before, and Dorian sounded weaker than before. “My luv, we are waiting for you to meet us in the ballroom. I cannot talk too long; I want to be strong enough to be with you the whole day. My luv put on your dress and hurry down so we can truly meet. I want to gaze into your eyes, I want to spin you around the ballroom and caress your beautiful curly hair.”
It became quiet. Mary’s hands were shaking; they were waiting for her…for her. She wanted to shout it from the rooftops, they were waiting for her to come so they could start the ball. She had to put on her dress, she had to get ready and she had to do it now.
She ran out of the room to fetch her plum coloured dress, which was in her bedroom.
She ran through the hallway; she was not stopping when she heard noises and she did not creep or lurk passed the rooms where there was someone in.
She opened the door to her room, jumped inside and took the dress out of the wardrobe. She put it on as fast as she could, then she put the tiara on her head and looked in the mirror.
She sighed, she could not go like that, she looked horrible. The dress made it seem like she had a potbelly, no rich and successful man would want a woman with a potbelly. She thought that her curly hair made her look like a jester in the dress about to perform a juggling routine. She thought that her glasses and freckles made her look like she should be one of the staff, not one of the guests. “NO!” she told herself. “I look beautiful,” she said to her reflection in the mirror over and over again hoping she would believe it. She knew she looked like a train wreck, and she was not worthy of being the guest of honour, but Dorian had chosen her for a reason because he thought she was beautiful, didn’t he?
Her heart started pounding in her chest, her pulse quickened, and her breath became heavy. What if it was all a joke? What if Dorian Black didn’t like her at all? What if every guest just came to the ball to make fun of her? What if they thought she looked like and behaved like an ape? She was not used to walking nicely and dance. What if they were going to eat and she did not know which fork to use first? Or what if they were going to drink champagne and she did not like the taste and spat it out on Dorian’s jacket?
No, she could not think like that. She and Dorian were soul mates. It was destiny that brought her to the hotel. Their love was magnetic, they would be together forever and ever exploring the world, trying different foods and learning different languages. She was going to march down to the ballroom and she was going to dance with the most attractive man there, Dorian Black.
Mary looked in the mirror and nodded before she made her way towards the ballroom. She guessed that everyone had now gone to breakfast so there would be a clear way. No one would interrupt her.
She hurried down the stairs jumping over every other step. She wondered whether she should head to the door leading to the dining room to listen to the breakfast conversation. She knew they would be coming for her. She murdered Brutus, she hit her own mother and struck down Logan, but they had to understand that she had to be with Dorian.
She got another vision, this one of the dining room. She saw her mother, Logan, the doctor and the twins. Breakfast was not yet served. The five of them were talking but she could not hear what they were saying.
Mary tried to concentrate, she tried to listen to what they were saying.
“We need to get Mary out of here,” said her mother.
“I knew it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to her delusions,” said the doctor.
“Look, guys, we just needed to talk to her; it could just be a crazy accident. Maybe, she just found some drugs,” said Logan with a fake smile and a forced cheerful voice.
“Logan, she attacked Mum and you,” said Barry.
“Our sister has gone berserk. She needs to be stopped,” continued Ben.
“There is no talking her down. Moaning Mary has gone on a mental rampage,” said Barry.
Ben finished by saying, “I say we drive her to the loony bin or ship her overseas. Let her be someone else’s problem.” The doctor twirled his moustache as he said firmly, “Whatever we intend to do, we need to do it fast. That creature is running around the hotel probably ruining priceless artefacts.”
Mary was right; they were coming after her, but she would be safe with Dorian she could feel it in her gut. He would protect her from the vicious living. The dead were the only kind people in the hotel, they were the only ones who weren’t plotting her downfall.
She had to hurry to the ballroom and she had to calm herself down on the way. She was not going to ruin the perfect day by thinking about her mum or the twins, or anyone else for that matter.
She ran through dark hallways hurrying to the ballroom. She stood outside the doors breathing in and out deeply. Her hands were trembling, and it felt like flies were flying around inside her. Mary put her hand on the doorknob, then she took it back, counted to three and tried again. She wanted to go inside but a little voice in her head was telling her not to do it. She could not listen to that voice anymore; it had been an obstacle all her life.
Mary grabbed the doorknob firmly and turned it. She paused and told herself that this was what she wanted and needed. She opened the door and looked inside, there were over a hundred people all wearing suits and dresses. Some men had hats with colourful feather, and others had colourful ties. Some of the women wore red while others wore blue but none of them wore purple, she was the only one.
They all stared at her with big jealous eyes. Some of the men were whistling at her and others were applauding. Some of the women were whispering among themselves. Were they talking about how hideous she looked? Her palms started to sweat, and her heartbeat went back up. She was expecting everyone to start laughing and pointing at her, but no one did.
Every one of them took a step to the side to make a pathway and in the end, was a tall beautiful man with long black wavy hair and tan skin. The man had an athletic build, his body was in a V-shape and he had a light stubble on his face. He was smiling as he bowed, then he started walking towards her with a single red rose in his hand. The man walked up to her, he placed the rose above her ear and said, “You are the most beautiful women I have ever laid eyes upon.”
Mary stared into his soft blue eyes as the music started coming from the stage. “Can I ask for this dance?” he asked.
“I don’t really know how to dance,” said Mary keeping her head low as if it was shameful.
Dorian laughed softly and said, “I am afraid that I have to left feet. Tonight is about having fun and enjoying the company. It is not about who can dance the best, there are no judges here.”
Dorian took her hand and laid the other one on her hip and they began dancing to the soft music. The people around started dancing as well, no one commented about Mary’s lack of experience on the dance floor which she was grateful for.
Mary stepped on Dorian’s foot but he didn’t say anything, he just continued holding her tightly and guiding her around the dance floor. Mary smiled; she felt a warmness she had never felt before. The day was more fantastic than she had hoped it would be.
They danced in a square as if they were trapped in a box. Mary laid her head on Dorian’s firm chest and he did not tell her to move, it was wonderful. She closed her eyes and imagined that they were dancing on a white fluffy cloud. She imagined them dancing on the moon beneath the stars, no one would bother them there.
She looked up at the orchestra, they were playing the most wonderful notes, the harp was soft, and the drums kept their legs moving.
“My luv, I have a gruesome task for you,” said Dorian.
“What do you want me to do?” said Mary in a dreamy voice.
“My luv, I need you to understand that what I need you to do will be undone after you’ve done it. If you do it, then you and I can be together forever.”
“Whatever it is, I will do it,” said Mary not taking her eyes off Dorian’s eyes.
Dorian smiled softly. “The house is feeding, and it is almost full. It feeds on souls and when it has fed on enough, it will free the souls giving them a new life. Brutus died but the house needs one more soul and then everyone in the house will get a new life. They will be reborn. People who haven’t seen their family for decades can come back, and me and you can explore the world.”
Mary did not know what to believe, did he want her to kill? Why could the house not take a life on its own? It was like Dorian had read her mind because he quickly said, “The hotel itself cannot kill, only the living can kill the living. I am not alive, but I want to be. I cannot ask you to stay at the hotel with me forever. To see you trapped would hurt too much. Which is why I ask you to take a life only to grant life back to them and so many along with them.”
Dorian made it seem so logical and, in fact, it was logical. She would not really kill anyone because they would be brought back to life at once. She would take a life for a few seconds only to give hundreds of people a second chance at life, it was only fair.
“Could I take my own life?” she asked him.
He said, “The hotel does not count the souls that are taken by suicide. I should know, I did suicide and the hotel did not claim my soul. I live here yes, but I did not feed its hunger.”
“Why did you take your own life if I can ask?” said Mary and regretted it. This was not a thing you ask someone living or dead.
“It’s fine, I can speak about it. I took my life hoping I would quench the hotel’s thirst, I could not bear to see another one die. I spoke with the hotel and it told me that suicide does not count but it did say how many souls were left and now it is only one,” said Dorian mournfully.
“I will do it.” She could do it; she knew she could, all she had to do was pick one to stab, shoot, or hit – it could not be that hard to decide.
“Thank you, my luv. You can do it later but now let’s dance some more. I don’t want to waste opportunity.”