The Grenier Ascension - Pt 4c (Criss, Denise)

As the sound of Criss's despairing scream died away, one of the Green women burst into the bedroom.  "What's happening?" she half-shouted half-stammered.  "Are you all right?  Are you hurt?"
"He killed Wendy!" Criss wailed.  "He just killed her!"
"Who killed who?"
"The Count.  He killed my friend Wendy, right in front of me!"
"Oh..." the woman, Criss remembered her name was Susan, said.  "The one who was supposed to come here when you did?"
"I need to get out of here... where's Denise?"
"No, you mustn't leave!  You're-"
"TELL ME WHERE DENISE IS!" Criss screamed.

Without waiting for an answer she made for the door.  Susan tried to grab her arm, but Criss pivoted and dodged around her, running into the passageway.  The house was huge, but she thought she remembered the way to Denise's room; she turned left.  Only to see that the commotion had brought others of the family; the old patriarch Wilson and two of the younger men were coming toward her.  Criss backed up a step, part of her wanting to turn and run, but the rest unwilling to turn her back on Denise.  The hesitation cost her as she felt Susan behind her again, her hand closing on Criss's elbow.

"What is happening here?" Wilson Green demanded.
"She's trying to run away," Susan said.
He frowned as if the answer didn't quite register.
Criss's distress burst out of her again; "He killed Wendy, I saw him torturing girls in his castle, he's making Denise sick.  He's evil, we're not staying here!"
"He is your Lord, your Master, and your husband-to-be," the old man snapped.
"No.  I couldn't ever, not when he's-"
"Take her back to her room."

Susan pulled on Criss's elbow, but Criss twisted, using the movement to pull herself free.  But it was too late; the other two men had closed the distance and she was surrounded.  She still fought, kicked, elbowed, scratched, bit; but she couldn't get free from them all.  The three of them took hold of her limbs and drag-carried her back into the bedroom, forcing her onto the bed.  The men held her down while Susan pulled several cords free from Criss's dressing gowns; she bound Criss's hands together before tying them to a bar on the headboard.

"Fetch the book," Wilson told one of the men.  "And a drink for her," he added to Susan.  As they left, he looked down at Criss.  "Ungrateful girl.  The Master has chosen you for the most unique of places; more than even any of us could hope for."
"You're welcome to it," Criss retorted.  She tried to get at the knots with her teeth, but the remaining Green man gripped her ankle, pulling her down the bed so that her arms stretched too far for her to reach.
"As I said, ungrateful girl.  But he'll reclaim you soon enough."
The book, and a drink... they were going to knock her out, and leave her asleep with the book where the Count could worm his way back into her mind.

The realisation was confirmed a few moments later when the man returned with This Restless House, setting it down on Criss's side table; then Susan returned, bearing a glass of water and a sleeping pill.
"Take it," Wilson ordered as the woman held them to Criss's face.
"No."
"Take it, or it will be forced into you."
There was no option. Criss opened her mouth and let Susan put the pill onto her tongue; she swallowed it with the water, then let them check her mouth to make sure.

But it wasn't over.  She knew what the Count was now.  Even if she couldn't fight the Greens, she could still fight to keep her soul her own. Criss held onto the thought as the pill's effect gradually dragged her down into darkness.

   ****

"What's happening to Criss?" Denise asked Billy.  "I can hear her screaming."
"It's nothing to be concerned about," Billy said.  "Grandfather will deal with it."
"But what if she's-"
"I said it's nothing," he snapped.
"I'm sorry, my Lord," Denise said, bowing her head.
"Your attention should be on me."
"Yes, my Lord."

"Lie down on the bed," he ordered.
"Yes, my Lord."  Denise obeyed him, opening her robe and spreading her legs as she did.  This was better; she was so weak and drained now that it was hard to move or think.  Billy was right; let his grandfather deal with whatever trouble Criss was in... Denise could lie still and give herself to her Billy.
He was on top of her now, freeing his cock.  The penetration sent a wave of aches through her body; the rhythm of his thrusts sent more, but it also lulled her.  She was asleep before he came.

   ****

Criss's body was whirling in the Count's arms; unlike his usual sedate dances, now he led her with vigour, almost throwing her from hand to hand.  Only her skill let her keep her balance; even so she could barely distinguish the faces of the other guests in the ballroom.  She wondered what was on his mind.  Which reminded her; wasn't there something on her mind too?
At a break in the dance, she lifted a hand, begging him to pause.  He took it in his own, and looked down at her.  "What is it, precious one?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," she replied.  "There's something I wanted to ask you.  Something important.  But I can't remember..."

The Count smiled.  "That is well," he said.  "Tonight is not a night for questions."
"Where's Denise?" Criss asked suddenly.
"I told you-"
"I really want to see her.  We don't see each other much, which is silly when we live together."  There was something else, at the tip of Criss's mind; some other reason.  But the thought slipped away as soon as it had come.

"Enough," he said, beginning to drag her back to the dance floor by the hand he still held.  A memory stirred... someone else dragging her... Wendy, dragging her into the lower crypts of the castle... Wendy, dragging her into the lower crypts of the castle to show her something... Wendy, dragging her into the lower crypts of the castle to show her something, and the Count killing her for ir...
Killing her.
"No!" she yelled; surprise was on her side, letting her yank her hand free before he could tighten his grip.  "You killed Wendy.  And you're hurting Denise.  I'm going to find her."

She turned and ran, making for the archway that led to the wing housing Denise's bedchamber.  Around her the impression of other guests melted into darkness, and the warm glow of the torches grew harsh and baleful.  The Count was still standing where he had been; but another memory rose, of what she'd seen in the crypts, and Criss feared that the reason he didn't pursue her was that when she reached Denise's chamber he would already be there.

   ****

Denise's awareness had drifted from Billy's bed in the Green estate to her own in the Castle Grenier.  Billy had been replaced by the Count, whose thrusts each drank down another mote of her life.  She closed her eyes again, so tired that she wondered what it would mean for her to sleep in this place.  The Count let out a hiss of climax, and stood.  Denise rolled her head against her pillow, not sure that she could stand herself.  But she was sure that the next time the Count used her would be the last, and she would die.

Then the door was flung open and Criss burst into the room, screaming "Denise!"
The Count turned to face the intruder, a sardonic smile on his face.  "You have found your friend, then," he said.  "What say you to her?"
Criss spoke to him instead; "Let her go."
Denise blinked; "Criss, what are you doing here?"
"I've come to save you, dummy!" Criss said.  "We're getting out of here."
"But this is where we..."
"We do not belong here," Criss said.  "Look at what he's doing to you."
"That's..."  Denise tried to focus her thoughts
"He killed Wendy.  He's hurt me."
"No," Denise said.  "He told me he'd never hurt you."
"Seeing you like this hurts me."

Denise turned her head to look at the Count, who watching the exchange with the same smile still on his face.  "Did you hurt Wendy?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied.  "And it means nothing.  I will still take your life.  And I will still claim you as my Bride," he added, looking at Criss; "and you will love me and forget them both."
"I won't," Criss said.
"Criss, run; get out of here," Denise said.
"I won't," Criss repeated; she lunged for Denise, grabbing her and pulling her out of the bed and toward the door.

They made it to the hallway before Denise fell to her knees; it was all she could do not to collapse completely.  "I can't do it, Criss," she said. "I've got nothing left.  Just go."  She glanced toward the chamber door, sure the Count would emerge at any second.
"No," Criss said.  She turned Denise's head back to face her, then leaned in close, pressing their foreheads together.  "If you've got nothing left, then take from me.  Share my life, because we're getting out of here together."