Forbidden
by LexiCass

chapter 4

“I can’t believe we finally have a house. A real house … all our own.”

Luke walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “It sure beats most of the apartments we rented during our trek across Europe.”

Luke and Alexis had been free of Cassadine Island for five months. Alexis had found out she was pregnant within one month of escaping, which put her at about six months. They moved west across Europe and had bought a house in Sweden, just outside of Stockholm. Robert and Anna had come by to help them move in.

She sat down on the couch. Luke sat beside Alexis and put her feet in his lap, rubbing them. “You are too good to me.”

“Not too good,” Luke corrected, “just very good.” Alexis grinned at him and took his hand in hers. “You look tired.”

“This little one makes me tired all the time,” she said putting one hand over her six-month pregnant stomach.

Luke placed his hand over hers. “The baby seems to be sleeping. Perhaps, you should do the same.”

It had been approximately two weeks since Robert and Anna left, and Alexis’ nightmares began. Luke had become extremely concerned about her and the baby, but Alexis assured him they would be fine. That didn’t stop the dad-to-be from worrying.

“Will you lay with me?”

“Of course.”

Luke stood up and helped Alexis get to her feet. They walked up the steps towards their bedroom. Alexis laid down on her back, and Luke pulled her in close. He let his left hand rest on her abdomen.

“You have to close your eyes to go to sleep,” Luke whispered.

“I don’t want to sleep. I don’t want to dream.” She seemed so scared. It was like the night Luke had stopped Stavros from raping her. She was afraid to go to sleep, and there was nothing he could do.

It was the same dream that came to her every night. She woke up, remembering nothing but blood … a lot of blood. Alexis thought it was real, but she wasn’t quite sure.

“I'll be right here. I'll keep your nightmares away.”

Alexis smiled. It was clear he was trying to appease her fear, but it was worthless. She knew he could not stop her nightmares. But she was exhausted, so she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Luke nuzzled against her, letting his hand caress her skin. After only a short while, sleep overtook her, and she was sucked into that same nightmare.

“Mama,” five-year-old Alexis said as she came into the living room. She had been in her mother’s jewelry box again. This time she had come out with several strands of bead around her neck and a glittering sapphire and diamond necklace in her hands.

“Just what were you up to?” her mother asked her, clearly not angry by her daughter’s curious wanderings.

“I want to wear this one,” she handed the sapphire and diamond strands to her mother.

“This one is extra special,” Kristin said pulling Alexis onto her lap. “You see, there are two necklaces together.”

Alexis closely examined the jewels. “Can I wear it?” she asked again.

“You want to wear this shiny one with all those other necklaces you have on? But this one is meant to be worn alone.”

Alexis pulled off each strand one-by-one. “I’m ready, Mama,” she announced when she had no jewelry left. Kristin put the small strand of jewels on her daughter before putting the longer one on herself. “We match!” Alexis shouted in excitement.

A knock resounded at the door. “Open up,” a voice filtered through. Kristin’s eyes opened wide.

“Here,” Kristin said pulling a ring off her finger. She grabbed a piece of yarn from the table and looped the ring through. “Don’t take this off,” she ordered placing it around her daughter’s neck. “And don’t come out.”

Alexis cried in her sleep. She sat up abruptly, tears streaming down her face as sobs wracked her body. Luke pulled her close.

“The same dream?” Alexis nodded. “Do you remember more?” She nodded again.

“It was my mother.” She placed her arms over her stomach and wiped at her tears. “I’ve been thinking about her a lot since I found out I was pregnant. I know she died when I was five, but I don’t really remember her. So, I’ve been trying to remember. And I think I remembered too much.”

Luke ran his hand up and down her back. “What do you remember?”

Alexis took a deep breath. “Kristin. I was told my mother was Sophia … Uncle Mikkos’ sister. Helena was in my dream, and she called my mother Kristin. She had blonde hair and blue eyes.”

“Those are not Cassadine genes.”

“I know. But she was blonde. I saw her.”

“I never said I didn’t believe you. I’m just saying that if your mother was blonde, she was not a Cassadine.”

“So if my mother wasn’t a Cassadine, my father must have been.” She scrunched up her face trying to figure out why she had been lied to. “Helena was in my dream ...”

Luke reached up and wiped at her tears with his thumbs before placing a kiss to her temple. “You think what you dreamed was a memory.”

“It felt so real. Why would Helena be there?”

****

The next morning Anna and Robert arrived before Alexis awoke. “She had another nightmare, and between that and the baby kicking, she only got about four decent hours of sleep. Besides, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you two first.”

He explained about Alexis’ dream and what she had been told by the Cassadines. “Mikkos is probably her father,” Robert said.

“That’s what I thought too, but I didn’t mention it to her. She has been stressed enough lately.”

“How about you two do some digging? Luke, I think calling Stefan would prove valuable. I’ll hang around until Alexis wakes up, and we can do some unpacking. I’ll try to occupy her with some girl talk.”

“And we don’t want to be around for that,” Luke teased.

“Then let’s go.”

Luke followed Robert to the door, and then turned back to Anna. “Thank you.”

“Go,” she said shooing him out the door.

Alexis awoke an hour later. The baby had begun kicking again, and there was no possibility of sleeping through that.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Anna said as Alexis came down the steps.

“You’re here early.”

“If you think eleven is early … ”

“Eleven … oh man … my schedule is all off. Please tell me you’re here to help me unpack?”

“Yeah … I pulled out your books, but you’ll have to arrange them. I just started on the kitchen stuff. But first … I think we should get some food in us.”

The day proved to be eventful. Anna and Alexis got most of the house unpacked. Robert and Luke called Stefan to get some info, and update him on Alexis. The family had been up in arms when Luke escaped, killed Stavros, and kidnapped Alexis. Mikkos had threatened to give Laura back in return for Alexis, but Stefan had talked him out of it once he explained Nikolas was his child and they planned to be together.

Stefan hadn’t known anything about Alexis being his sister, but he had remembered a blonde woman named Kristin. She had been his tutor. When she left, it had been to become an opera singer. Mikkos had listened to opera, but other than that, Stefan knew nothing.

When Robert and Luke returned, Anna was breaking down boxes in the kitchen.

“Wow,” Luke said, “you guys got a lot done today.”

“Yeah, I unpacked and Alexis told me where to put everything. She wanted to help more, but I made her rest. I think she’s still asleep. I haven’t heard her in a while.”

“Thanks, Anna. Why don’t you two get out of here? It’s getting pretty late.”

“Sure,” Anna said, and with that they left. Luke took the boxes out back, and then finally made his way upstairs. He found Alexis sitting on their bed, crying.

“Baby, are you all right?” he asked quickly making his way to her side. She nodded, and he pulled her into his arms. “What’s that?”

She was holding a black, velvet jewelry box. “I found this while we were unpacking. There was a note.” Alexis reached over and picked up a folded piece of paper.

Alexis,
I found this one day in Mikkos’ study. He tore it from my
hands and told me never to touch it again. He said it would
be yours one day. I was forbidden from mentioning this to
anyone, especially Helena and Stavros. When you told me
you were leaving, I felt compelled to give this to you.
Wishing you all the happiness,
Stefan

Luke looked up. “What’s in the box?”

“I haven’t looked yet.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.”

Luke took her trembling hands in his. “We can open it together.”

She nodded and let him take the box from her. He held it in front of them both, opening the lid. There sat a diamond and sapphire ring on a cord and a necklace with larger diamonds and sapphires. Alexis gingerly picked it up. “This was in my dream. I was asking Mama if I could wear it. There were two pieces, and she put the smaller one on me.”

“It’s beautiful,” Luke whispered. He carefully took it form her and put it around her neck. “But on you … gorgeous.”

Alexis picked up the ring next, studying it.

A knock resounded at the door. “Open up,” a voice filtered through. Kristin’s eyes opened wide.

“Here,” Kristin said pulling a ring off her finger. She grabbed a piece of yarn from the table and looped the ring through. “Don’t take this off,” she ordered placing it around her daughter’s neck. “And don’t come out.”

Alexis peered through the crack in the closet door, watching her mother. “What do you want?” she demanded to the woman at the door.

“Kristin.”

“Helena.”

“I came because I recently learned of a second child. I tolerated the other one. I will not tolerate a second.”

“Fine,” Kristin conceded. “I’ll stay away from you and your husband. You’ll never have to deal with me again.” She moved to shut the door, but Helena got in the way.

“Not so fast,” she whispered. Helena had her arms around Kristin with a knife to her throat. Tears filled Alexis’ eyes when she saw the knife slice across her mother’s neck. Helena let go, and Kristin fell to the floor. Blood pooled everywhere, and red covered everything. “You’re right,” Helena began, “I’ll never have to deal with you again.”

Alexis ran out of the closet after she left. “Mama,” she whispered. “Please wake up. Please wake up.”

Tears began spilling down her face. She didn’t try to hold them back. “Alexis … Alexis,” Luke repeated growing more worried by the minute. “Alexis … talk to me baby.”

“My mother,” she cried. “Helena was there. She came … she came to our home. And she killed my mother. I was there. Mama took this … this ring off of her finger. She told me not to take it off, that it would protect me.” Luke held her close as her body was wracked with sobs. “She slit her throat. There was so much blood. I tried to help her.”

“There was nothing you could do. You were just a little girl.”

He held her a while longer. When she could cry no more, Alexis sat back up and looked into the box. Luke watched her carefully, as she pulled out the top tray. Hidden in the bottom was the larger part of the necklace among several other pieces of jewelry, mostly diamonds and sapphires, with a few emeralds, and only one ruby. Alexis sifted through every piece, spending a few minutes examining each piece before moving on. Other than the ring and the double strand necklace, she recognized nothing. When all the jewelry was cleared, Alexis picked up the envelope at the bottom. She looked at Luke, and he obliged, removing a picture.

“That’s her,” Alexis whispered. “That’s my mother.”

The picture was of a beautiful blonde woman, wearing a blue dress, white gloves, and lots of sapphires. “She’s wearing the necklace,” Luke said mostly to himself. “And she is definitely not a Cassadine.”

Alexis stared at the picture for a long time. “Why did Uncle Mikkos lie to me?”

“You want my guess?”

Alexis looked over at her lover. She nodded. He wiped the tears from her eyes. “I think your father is a Cassadine. Mikkos took care of you, and with Helena being the one to kill your mother, I would suspect him.”

Alexis thought back to the previous eleven years with the Cassadines. Stefan had always been kind to her and Stavros cruel. Her Uncle Anthony had been mostly indifferent, while her Uncle Victor had been extremely kind. But Uncle Mikkos … he hadn’t paid much attention to her, except on special occasions. He had always surprised her with gifts on her birthday and Christmas. The gifts were supposed to be a secret. At the time she thought that was odd, but now …

“Maybe Helena doesn’t know who I am. Maybe she suspects.”

“Or she knows, but since you don’t she will tolerate you,” Luke hypothesized. “If you don’t know you’re Mikkos’ child, you can’t fight to inherit.”

“And now that Stavros is gone, Stefan inherits. But I could fight for it.”

“Do you want it?”

“We don’t even know if–”

“Do you want it?”

“I want you, me, and this baby to be a family, as far away from the Cassadines as possible.”