The Rise of Caroline Spencer-Chap. 4
STEFAN.....
*******************
The darkness.
That was all that was left. He wonders if that’s all that there ever
was.
" I will be retiring for the evening, Prince Stefan. Is there anything
that I can do for you?"
" No thank you, Mrs. Lansbury. Good evening."
" Good evening, Sir."
Mrs. Lansbury left the room. This house was so silent these days. Since
Nikolas moved out, the life has gone out of Wyndemere and out of Stefan
Cassadine, she thought. She was still getting used to calling him the
Prince, but, that’s what he was.
Stefan Cassadine sipped his brandy and thought about his day. Another
day without Nikolas. He grabbed for the picture of Nikolas that he had
held for too many hours to count.
Stefan Cassadine knew that he was a man trapped by his birth. He knew
better than to think that he could ever be happy or have any joy in his
life. He was accustomed to loss and pain. He learned all about it from
the person who taught him so many lessons: his Mother, Helena.
The eternal question he had in the back of his mind...what many an
abused child wanted to know: what had he done that made his mother hate
him so?
And, it’s a secret that she took to her grave.
Her grave.
Even now, he couldn’t believe that Helena was dead. He had wished it for
years, never able to do it himself, because..God help him, she was still
his mother, and he loved her. But, she took his love for weakness and
ridiculed him for it. He remembered as a child , watching her lavish the
attention on Stavros. The cheering for him at events that she would
stage. Events that never happened with him. He remembered watching her
read to Stavros at night, never leaving the job to the Governess, while
he could not remember once her coming to his room, tucking him in. He
couldn’t remember one point in his life where he had gotten anything
but, utter contempt from her. And, then, when that didn’t work, the
attempts on his life did. He remembers being 9 years old and Helena
suddenly turning up in his room one night, with evening tea.
With a smile that had never on her face, looking her way....Helena came
in with some tea.
" Drink it all up, Stefan, dear. Do it for Mother."
He did as he was told. Every night, for 2 weeks, until Stefan was too
ill to even get out of bed. And, miraculously, his mother had been so
attentive to him as he got ill. Usually, she had little patience for
when he was stricken with something. He remembered once that she had
told him to get out of bed from his lessons, and he had pulled himself
together, gotten dressed, and walked downstairs for tutoring, only to
pass out in the middle of lessons, because of a temperature of 104.
Though he was ill, Stefan was relishing the attention from his mother.
How she wiped his brow with the wet cloth. How, she had a cot set up in
the room beside his bed. How she read to him from the books that the
governess recited on a nightly basis. He had not idea that the stories
could sound so wonderful, just because they had come from the voice of
his mother. But, nothing that she was doing, was helping him. He seemed
to eat less and less and become more bedridden.
It had been a fortnight of Helena’s attention, and they were going
through their now usual ritual of tea and lemon, before the story of his
choice. Helena was bringing it to him in ‘their’ special cup. Stefan
smiled weakly as Helena was bringing the cup over to him. Helena was
halfway across the room when the door slammed open and a wild Mikkos
came through the door. He slapped the cup out of Helena’s hand, thus
spilling the tea, some of which burned Stefan when it hit him. Mikkos
took Helena by the throat and slammed her up against the wall.
" You miserable bitch!", he exclaimed in Russian. Mikkos began to
squeeze on Helena’s throat. His body pinned her against the wall, and
Helena began to gasp for air. His eyes were wild with fury.
A weakened Stefan climbs out of bed and rushes over to them. He pulls at
Mikkos. " Please, Father. Don’t hurt, Mother. Don’t hurt her." Mikkos
looks down at Stefan and begins to release the grip on Helena, but, not
releasing her completely.
" Do you hear him? After everything, HE still cares for YOU! He doesn’t
realize what a waste of time it is!" Mikkos lets go of Helena. He had
held her off the ground, and she fell when let her go. Mikkos leaned
down and picked up Stefan. " It is alright, Stefan. The DOCTOR will help
you."
Mikkos left the room, and once in the hall, he tells the guards. " Mrs.
Cassadine is to be escorted to her room. She is NOT to leave until I
return."
Mikkos walks with Stefan in his arms, but, is stopped by a frightened
Alexis, who had been allowed to sleep in the mainhouse, since Stefan’s
illness.
" Prince Cassadine, will Stefan be OK? Will his sickness go away?"
" Go to sleep, Alexis. Stefan will be fine."
Mikkos took Stefan to the infirmary on the island. Once there, the
family Dr. Spiros was there, but, also people Stefan had never seen.
They rushed him into this room, and, before Stefan knew it, he had all
sorts of tubes in him. He was very scared, but, he saw his father
standing in the doorway. His father, the Prince. He would do his best
imitation of him, and be brave and strong. He let them to their work. He
wound up regurgitating until his throat and stomach hurt. He was so
weak. Weaker than when his mother was taking care of him. After the
doctor’s had finished with their treatment, Stefan cried for a little
because he was in pain. He cried himself to sleep. He awoke when he felt
a hand on his forehead. Mikkos was pushing his hair away from his eyes.
" How do you feel, my son?"
" Weak, Father. My stomach and throat hurt."
" I know. That was your treatment. You will begin to regain your
strength. I apologize for not being here sooner, Stefan. But, I was on a
business trip and had not been informed of your illness."
" That is fine, Father. Mother looked after me."
" Stefan...."
" Yes, Father?"
" You are never to be alone again with your mother."
" Why?"
" Because I have decreed it."
" But, why? For the first time, she loves me."
" Stefan, it has to be. Now...you sleep. If you need anything, the nurse
will provide it. " He kisses Stefan on the forehead. " Goodnight, my
son."
Mikkos leaves a very scared Stefan and goes back to the main house where
he enters Helena’s room. Helena is sitting on her bed, outstretched in a
silk nightgown, as if nothing that transpired between them.
" Ah, darling Mikkos. What took you so long?"
" You murdering whore! What did you think you were doing?"
" Doing? Whatever do you mean, my darling?"
" You were killing our son! You were poisoning Stefan!"
" I WARNED you, Mikkos. I told you that you would only have TWO children
ever call you father. Since, you’ve decided that the urchin Natasha
should have the privilege, that left the choice to Stefan."
" Not Stavros.." Mikkos sneers.
" No. Never my beloved Stavros. You ever harm him, Mikkos, and I will
kill both of them , without thinking twice." There is a standoff between
them. Mikkos glares at Helena for awhile. God, how he despises her. And
yet....
Mikkos heads for the door and when he his hand grabs the knob he turns.
" Fine. Natasha will grow up ignorant of her heritage. But, you are
never to be alone with Stefan again...understood?"
Helena bows. " Your order is my desire, dear Prince." Mikkos leaves
Helena.
Once back in his quarters, he takes out the hidden picture that he has
of Kristen and Alexis..one of the last ones taken of the two of them
before......he had been foolish and arrogant with Kristen. He knew what
Helena was, and he tempted fate and lost. It was his arrogance that had
nearly gotten Stefan killed, and for that he would never forgive
himself. He knew now that the best course of action was little to no
interaction with Stefan AND Alexis. He could not risk Helena becoming
jealous of either one of them. They were too young to defend themselves.
He had to trust that Helena wouldn’t harm them in his absence. Though it
would pain him, keeping them both alive was his only priority. He looked
at the picture of Helena by his bedside. The icy smile that greeted him.
The smile that hid something truly deadly: a person with little to no
soul. Mikkos shuddered. Oh, he knew what others would say...he should
divorce her. Throw her out. Exile her from his life. But, he knew
better. He drifted off to sleep, thinking of the complications of what
his life had become.
He awoke when he felt her hands on his chest. Her nails were digging
into the hairs of his chest. Then he felt her climb atop of him and
begin kissing him on his neck.
" Helena", he said muffled.
" Sshh, Dear Prince. Let me apologize for my indiscretions." Before
Mikkos could even find the strength to reply, she began to weave her
spell about him as his arousal so confirmed. Mikkos Cassadine had been a
man of deep passions. Deep indulgences. Cocaine...Opium...Even heroin.
He had tried them all and when he decided to stop using them, he did. As
with every other vice that came his way. Except Helena. She was inside
his soul. The hold she had on him frightened him. He lashed out at her,
taking mistresses, hoping that she would become disgusted and leave him,
thus setting him free. But, he had learned from the beginning, with his
first mistresses burned-by-acid face, that Helena would never even
confront him about his indiscretions. No, if Mikkos was careless enough
to play chess with real people, then, play the game she would. Mikkos
had thought that he had checkmated her with Kristen....until the night
Helena walked into his study, holding the tiny hand of his daughter.
Kristen taught him that the sins of the flesh were too great to pay a
price for, so he began his routine of being with only those women that
he felt nothings for: that were disposable...and he transferred his
passion to science. These were the last coherent thoughts he had before
Helena ensnared him in her web once again...
It was late at night, when young Stefan woke up scared and afraid. His
father had told him that someone would be there when he woke up, but, as
he scanned the room, he saw no one. He got out of bed and walked down
the hall, where he heard voices.. It was the guard and the nurse.
" He’s such a sweet boy.", the nurse said in Greek. " So unlike his
mother...mother, what kind of word would you call her?"
" Now, you don’t know anything about what happened?"
" Of course I do. Put it all together. The child was POISONED, Vasili.
Gradually poisoned over a contained period of time. WHO was the only one
near the child? with access to him? The household maid told me that the
only one near the child was Helena Cassadine. That woman was trying to
MURDER her own child!!"
The guard lowered his voice, " IF you want to keep your life, you will
NEVER speak of this to ANYONE! Don’t be stupid."
Stefan came out from the shadows and looked at them. He scurried back
into his bed, pulling the covers over his head. His MOTHER made him
sick? No. They had to be wrong. His Mother loved him. For the first
time, she loved him, not just Stavros. He tried to go to sleep, but,
everytime he did, the line of the nurse kept going over and over in his
head...’ The child was POISONED...That woman was trying to MURDER her
own child!’
When his father came to see him the next day, Stefan waited until their
visit was nearly finished when he spoke up..
" Father, what made me sick?"
" Stefan, what does it matter? You will be well now. As if nothing had
happened."
" But, what if I come in contact with what made me sick? How would I
know what to avoid?"
" Stefan, no harm will come to you."
" Will Mother be coming to see me?"
" No, Stefan. Your mother will not be seeing you. In fact, I will be
taking her and Stavros on my next business trip."
" What about me?"
" You will stay here. You will be fine. You and your cousin Alexis can
spend time together. You like Alexis?"
" Yes. We have fun."
" Then, you will enjoy yourselves. By the time you are well enough to go
back to the main compound, we will be gone. But, you are to follow the
orders of your governess and tutors, am I understood?"
" Yes, Sir."
Mikkos hugged his son and left. By the time Stefan was OK’d by the
doctors to go back home, no one was there to greet him, but, Alexis, who
hugged him as soon as he hit the door. Seeing her smiling face nearly
made up for Stefan not having any of this family around.
Stefan was brought back to the present with the thought of Alexis. She
had come to him, after the revelations, wanting to be allies once again.
Her words were good..
" Stefan, now that things have been settled, can’t we again be brother
and sister?"
Stefan was furious with Alexis. He had saved her life because he would
always love her. But, having Alexis as an ally isn’t something that he
could afford right now.
" Alexis, though my mother is dead, and is no longer a threat, it still
does not erase your actions. Actions that got one man killed and nearly
got yourself killed. And, put Nikolas in danger. Of all the problems
between us, THAT is something that I cannot and will not soon forget,
let alone forgive. You have your alliance with the Jacks brothers. You
have your relationship with Ashton. You are still friends with Spencer.
You should not need me."
" But, you see, therein lies the rub. Yes, I have all those
relationships. I’ve even been proving myself as an independent
businesswoman. But, there is a hole inside of me, Stefan. A hole that
only you can fill. And, I think it’s mutual. I know that what I’ve done
could be considered unforgivable, but, I can only say that I love you. I
always will. I am not your enemy, Stefan. I’ve tried it, and I got a
half-hearted attempt at it. It’s not possible in my soul. If you ever
need me..."
" Goodbye, Alexis."
Stefan rubbed his forehead. He thought about the mess that his life had
become. When the Doctor came to tell him that Helena was dead, he hadn’t
believed it. He hadn’t know that she was sick.
" Breast Cancer.", Dr. Constantinides told him. "She had been fighting
it for 10 years."
Cancer, Stefan thought. What man couldn’t do, cancer did. It rid the
world of the plague of Helena Cassadine. Little did Stefan know that the
damage Helena caused him in life was child’s play what she would do now
that she was dead.
Helena was buried in Greece. Stefan, Nikolas, Alexis and the Spencers
all came. Stefan knew that they were all there just to make sure that
Helena was actually dead. They had all wished it for so long, that they
didn’t know if their dream had actually come true. The lawyer had asked
for a reading of Helena’s will immediately after the funeral. He told
Stefan that everyone Helena wanted invited was there. Stefan agreed that
they should not waste time, so, they all gathered in the library of the
Cassadine Compound.
" Mrs. Cassadine left a video of her will. The actual will is in these
envelopes that I am handing to you." The lawyer gave each of them an
envelope with their names on it.
" I still don’t know what the hell we’re doing here.", Luke said to
Laura.
" Luke...Helena cannot touch any of us anymore. So, if she has to spew
her venom one more time, let her do it." Laura walks over to Lucky and
Nikolas. " Are the two of you, OK?"
" Sure.", Lucky wisecracks. "Some woman whose wanted the destruction of
our family from jumpstreet has invited her to her last will and
testament. Makes you sorta warm and fuzzy inside, doesn’t it?"
Laura puts her hand to Lucky’s cheek. " Thank you, Lucky...for being
you.", she says as she arches her eyebrow.
Laura walks over to Stefan and takes his hand. " This can’t be easy for
you."
" Burying my mother? It’s been very easy on me."
" Stefan...I know your conflicted feelings about her. It’s Ok to be sad,
even when we should be dancing in the streets."
" How is it for you? Being back on the Island?"
" I won’t lie to you. I have had terrible flashbacks of this place. And,
sometimes, I’ve been hit with panic attacks. But, then, I’ve also been
to the cove...and the garden..."
" I know. I watched you. And, did you recall anything?"
" That I’m glad we are together in the PRESENT. That what I feel for you
is completely separate from what we shared here. "
" You have no idea how happy that makes me. I want to kiss you, but, I
cannot. It would not be appropriate."
" I know. But, we can..later."
" Shall we commence?", the lawyer asks. ]]]]]
Stefan gets up from his chair and walks over to the window. He looks out
at the garden. There would be beauty there soon. But, beauty was long
gone from his life. How could he have known that Helena would reach from
the grave with her tentacles and destroy him.
Or, so he had thought. Upon his destruction, he returned to Spoon
Island, because he could not think of anywhere else to go. He settled
into a routine. He would get up as early as possible, and begin working
in his study. He would stay there until dinner, and after dinner, he
would drink himself into oblivion...until he passed out and the
nightmares would begin. And, then, he would awake the next morning to
start it all over again.
He had been in the midst of his routine a few week ago when...
[[[[ Flashback ]]]]
" I told you that I didn’t need anything else, Mrs. Lansbury.", Stefan
Cassadine said as he downed another glass of vodka.
" It’s not Mrs. Lansbury, Stefan." Bobbie Spencer steps out from the
shadows.
" Barbara. Well, I will not say that I was expecting you. So, are you
hear to gloat? If so, leave my presence now. "
" Stefan..."
" You obviously KNOW what happened in Greece. How I lost anything that
meant anything to me. So, leave NOW!"
" NO! I won’t go. Not until I say what I came to say."
Stefan gets up and takes his glass and smashes it near Bobbie’s feet.
But, she doesn’t move. She stands there, still, with her brown eyes
defiant.
" Are you through?"
Stefan stares at her and begins, one after the other, throwing the
glasses around the room in a fury. His anger and rage getting more
fierce, one after the other. He had emptied one of them and finished
half of the other one when he stopped. There were shards of glass
everywhere near the fireplace. They were refracting the light from the
fireplace. He looked at Bobbie with pure rage..
" Are you finished?", she deadpans.
" Since you aren’t in the best of moods, I’ll say what I came to say. I
wanted you to know that Nikolas is back. He’s at my house. He and Lucky
are now sharing an apartment in the Brownstone. I can’t say that he’ll
stay..but, he’s talking to Lucky. To Lulu and he’s even said a few words
to me. I’m sorry Stefan."
" For what reason, Barbara?"
" Your pain. For what you lost ?"
" You believe I did it, don’t you? You believe that I used Nikolas that
way? For Laura?"
" I don’t know. My instincts tell me that you didn’t. But, sometimes
...logic flies out the window. I can’t imagine how you lived back then.
Surrounded by people who were both crazy and hideous. And, into this
life, came a pure ray of sunshine. Of beauty and grace. Something so
pure that you couldn’t believe your fortune.
You may have wanted to do the right thing..but, you fell in love, twice-
with Laura, but more importantly with Nikolas. He filled you up like
nothing had before..like nothing could ever have done for you. You might
have suspected the hole that was inside you, but, until Nikolas came,
you really didn’t know, did you?
There was a hunger inside..and when he looked up at you, so helpless and
desiring of love, you gave it to him. And, you gave. Everything positive
in you, you gave to him. In a world gone completely insane, he was the
purest form of sanity. Because, the love you gave him came from your
soul. "
" You believe I did it."
" Whether you did or not is irrelevant to me. The fact remains is that
you loved Nikolas. You gave him everything, and I don’t mean money. You
made him into the young man that he is...and that is that he’s a
wonderful, remarkable young man. Kind, decent, soulful, elegant,
charming, intelligent. You did that right, Stefan."
" I doubt he wants to give me any compliments on the man he became."
" You’re right. Nikolas will have his anger right now. But, it won’t
last forever. And, beyond the anger is a legacy of love and devotion
that he can’t possibly question."
" But HE DOES, BARBARA! He questions every single thing that happened in
his life with me. He believes that I knew he was Spencer’s son, and kept
him from his parents because of my love for Laura. He believes that I
loved Laura more than I love him.", Stefan lowers his face looking at
the floor. " And, that’s not true."
Bobbie waited for a few moments and then went over to Stefan. She placed
her hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t flinch, she went around and
stood in front of him.
" I’m not doing any good for you right now. I guess I should just tell
you what I came for anyway. Nikolas is at the Brownstone. He’s in an
apartment with Lucky. I’ve agreed to give both of them their space, but,
surely you know that I will be keeping an eye out for them. I love
Nikolas. I always have. I guess, I wanted you to know that you can call
me. Anytime. For information on him. "
" Does the rest of your family know that you’re consorting with the
enemy?"
" If you’re asking if I shared my ideas with others in my family, the
answer is no. This is between the two of us, Stefan. I thought you would
like to have some line of communication between you and Nikolas. I guess
I was wrong. Goodbye." Bobbie begins to leave when Stefan grabs Bobbie’s
arm.
" Barbara, wait........Your offer is very generous. I would certainly
appreciate any communication about Nikolas. Things have been difficult,
but, that does not excuse my ill behavior. "
" That’s OK. It’s been a tense situation for everybody. We’re all just
muddling through. "
" What was your plan?"
" I dunno. Maybe we could meet for coffee every once in awhile, and I
could tell you about Nikolas."
" Do you believe that would be wise? For us to be seen together?
Possibly it would upset Nikolas and he would consider it a betrayal. You
could come to Wyndemere."
" Come here?"
" Or, you name the place, Barbara. I am not exactly in a position to
make demands."
" I don’t know. I’ll have to get back to you. You know, you really
should drink some coffee. It might help alleviate the headache I know is
coming."
" Always the nurse, Barbara?"
" Wouldn’t want all my efforts to go to waste, now would I?"
" I suppose not."
There is a silence between them and Bobbie speaks up. " Goodbye,
Stefan."
" Thank you, Barbara."]]]]]]]]
As he sipped on his cognac, Stefan Cassadine could not have imagined
that such an opportunity would have landed in his lap. He thought that
he would have to work on developing a bridge to Bobbie Spencer, and here
it came to him. It was the first piece of luck he had in a long time,
and he told himself that he wouldn’t squander it. He had a plan, and, it
would take time for him to achieve it. But, all he had was time. He
would recover his life. He had to.
Stefan took out some more reports...anything to keep him from needing to
go to bed. He was delaying the inevitable....his daily nightmares.
*****************************
Carly saw the limo before she saw anything else. Johnny was standing
outside of it.
And, Carly could see, sitting on Bobbie’s stoop, was Jason.
Carly walked right past him, up the stairs and put the key in the lock.
Before she could turn it, Jason covered her hand with his.
" Carly."
" I have no intentions of being cold, so, if you wanna talk, come in."