Trigger warnings: Non-consent, abduction, public humiliation, death, blood and blood drinking (I mean...they're vampires), degradation, and sexual harassment (including not between MCs)

Note: This story, including all names and people, is entirely fictional and not based on any real life experiences or events.

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I don’t see much of Sebastian for the next few days. He’s gone when I wake up, yet his side of the bed remains warm. I sometimes see him come to bed, but I always pretend I’m asleep in an effort to make him ignore me.

I can’t get over how he violated my mouth like that. It was so intense and so different that it’s a struggle to wrap my mind around it. I didn’t love it exactly, but I’d be a damn liar if I said his warm, smooth skin in my mouth didn’t make my core tighten.

So, I’m making a damn good effort at avoiding him, but he seems to be avoiding me too. Not that I’m hurt or anything. It’s nice to not be under his thumb all the damn time.

I spend some time with Elana, the servant who got me ready for the dinner with Sebastian’s inner circle. She’s the only servant or guard in here who will speak more than a few words to me – or even look at me with anything other than contempt in her eyes.

I’m too shocked and scared to question her. I don’t know if it’s rational, but part of me worries that if I ask her why she’s nice to me that she’ll remember she’s supposed to hate me. And then I’ll lose the only person I can sort-of lean on in this hell.

“Is your hair naturally this colour?” she asks one night, running her fingers through the strands. We’re sitting in front of the vanity in Sebastian’s bedroom while she helps me get ready for bed. “It’s really pretty. Suits your face, too.”

My cheeks heat. I don’t think I’ve had a servant say something like that…ever. Not back home nor in Thaerin Castle. It takes me a moment to stammer out my reply. “N–no, it’s all natural.” I pause for a moment, trying to pick out the right words. “Everyone back in Korya says I was cursed as a child.”

“Cursed?” Elana blurts, surprised. “I don’t know about you, but many in this place would kill to have hair as striking as yours.” She chuckles to herself. “Wouldn’t say you were cursed.”

I wish I had more to tell her, but no one ever told me more than that. I don’t know what kind of curse it is, or where it came from.

“They were probably just jealous,” Elana surmises. I don’t like her reassuring tone, and I can’t stop myself from speaking up.

“I’m not a child, you know,” I gently protest, looking at her in the mirror. “I don’t need you to coddle me or lie to me. It’s just a hair colour.”

She winces. “Sorry, Ana. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.” She hesitates, laying my hair back down onto my shoulders. She’s about to say something, but the sound of the door opening stops her mouth halfway open.

We both turn, watching Sebastian waltz into the room. He looks tired and beat up, like he’s been in a fight after running for a mile. I can’t smother my gasp at the sight of him, either. His shirt is ripped open in the middle, and his thin clothing is damp with sweat and…blood.

“Your Majesty,” Elana greets, curtsying.

Sebastian smiles at her. “Hello, Elana.” He walks further into the room, discarding a satchel of some kind next to the bed. When he looks up at me and catches me staring, he smiles. “And hello to you too, Your Highness.”

Elana tenses next to me, but if Sebastian notices, he doesn’t say. I don’t know what Elana really thinks of Sebastian or what he’s done to me, but she’s clearly not thrilled about it, at the very least.

“You may go,” Sebastian tells her, and with a quick curtsy, she complies.

Once she leaves and the silence in the room becomes oppressive, I can’t help but ask, “What happened to you?” When he frowns at me, I nod and point to his ripped and sweaty shirt.

“Ah, that,” he says, cringing. “Derrick wanted to spar. Safe to say being the king doesn’t automatically make you the strongest.”

I catch my lips tugging at the corners at his little joke, but I stamp it down. “I thought you were the most powerful vampire in history,” I say instead.

He nods. “Sure, but if it’s just me, Derrick, and our fists and our swords, then it’s a tougher match.”

“Swords?”

“Swords.” He nods. “I don’t know what kind of sparring Koryans do, princess, but here, we use swords.” He grins at me again when my lips part in shock. “Don’t worry, he didn’t hurt me.”

“I’m not worried,” I insist. “But is that blood…yours?”

That just makes him grin wider. “Just because Derrick is better than me at sword fighting doesn’t mean I didn’t get a few good nicks in.” He pauses. “But yes, it’s my blood.”

This time I can’t help my disbelieving laugh from escaping my lips. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Why, thank you.” He walks up to me, tilting my head up face him with a finger under my chin. “Bathe with me.”

“What?” I ask, horrified.

“Don’t pretend you can’t hear me, Anastasia. It’s unbecoming.”

With that, he grabs my hand and practically drags me over to the door at the end of the room. “I’m already ready for bed,” I protest uselessly. “Elana spent ages getting me ready.”

“Don’t worry, princess,” he says, shoving me into the room and closing the door behind him. “I’ll just have to get you ready for bed again myself.”

I whimper softly with fear, but he doesn’t notice. Instead, he walks over to a large bathtub filled with soapy, steaming water. “I had a servant heat up some water for us,” he explains, looking at me. “Strip.”

All the colour drains from my face. It’s not even that he hasn’t seen it all before. I mean, he’s touched me beneath these clothes and…inside me. But having to strip for him so he can bathe with me feels so much more intimate. Like I’m his wife and not his slave, or whatever these people think I am to him.

“I don’t want to,” I whisper once a good minute of silence has passed. “Please.”

His eyes wrinkle, but not with amusement. More like…a soft, gentle understanding. “You know you don’t have a choice, Anastasia.” And with that, all of the softness I thought I detected in him is wiped away in an instant. “If you won’t strip yourself, then I’ll have to do it for you.” He leans against the wall, crossing his arms. “Your choice.”

“Why?” I can’t stop myself from voicing the question that’s been burning at the back of my mind for so long. “Why am I here? Why are you doing all this?” I wave uselessly around the room, indicating what I mean. All this opulence and pomp and circumstance, and for what?

For me?

“Why am I not dead?” I continue. “Are you just going to keep me here as some…as some pet? A possession? An ornament?” My voice quivers at the last word, humiliation racking my body.

“Do you wish you were dead?” he asks softly, completely missing my point.

“No, that’s not what I–“

“I know what you meant,” he interrupts. “Tell me something, girl. Do you remember the last war?” He doesn’t let me respond before he interrupts. “’Course not. You were too young.”

He sighs, tipping his head back against the wall before continuing. “The amount of death and destruction that war brought on, Anastasia…You can’t even imagine.” He’s right, I can’t. I’ve heard stories, but I know they do nothing to highlight how horrific that war was for the people who lived it. Vampire and human alike, too.

“When the war ended, there were no winners. Only losers. And many in my court want revenge. None more so than Owen, as I’m sure you figured out when you met him.” I nod cautiously. “But I’m not interested in killing you off. I assume some think I’m trying to draw out your torment for my own personal pleasure, and to maximise your humiliation.” My cheeks turn warm.

He walks up to me, gently tucking my hair behind my ear. “And maybe that’s what I’m doing.” He shrugs.

“But…” I mutter, looking up into his red eyes. “You could do that without doing all this. You could…” I hesitate, not wanting to list off all the horrible things he could do to me, but he thankfully saves me from having to do that.

“And maybe I don’t want you to die. Maybe I don’t want you to be degraded simply for the pleasure of me and my court, and the humiliation of your queen and her people.” He comes impossibly closer, my breasts pushing into his chest with every breath. His lips come closer to mine as he grips my chin between his fingers, and when he’s just half an inch from kissing me, he mutters, “Maybe I just want to keep you.”

I don’t get a chance to reply before he fuses his lips with mine. I gasp and whimper into his mouth, trying to pry myself away from him, but it’s useless. He grips me tight, holding me and forcing me to take his tongue into my mouth. He tastes so masculine and so of him that I can barely keep myself upright.

I don’t know what he’s doing to me, but I’m too terrified to really fight him. I know I’d lose, but part me doesn’t even want to try, even for my own sanity’s sake.

“Fuck,” he mutters when he pulls away, gripping my cheeks. “Take off your clothes, Anastasia. Now.”

He pulls away from me, ripping his own clothes off and showing off his chiselled body and several cuts and bruises lining his skin. He’s bloodied and sweaty. No wonder he needs a bath.

He raises an eyebrow at me when I hesitate for too long, so I slowly begin untucking my shirt and taking off my clothes. It’s a torturous process, because even though I refuse to look at him, I can still feel his gaze on me the entire time I’m stripping out of my clothes.

Once I get to the last layer, I pause again. I know he’s going to tell me to continue, but my hands are frozen, unable to comply with his humiliating and degrading demands.

“You’re not done yet,” he says, nodding at my clothes. “Continue.”

Hesitantly, I slowly pull off the last layer, quickly stepping out of them when they land on the floor. I cover my chest and the area between my legs, hoping he’ll be satisfied, which he thankfully seems to be.

He steps into the bathtub, which is large enough to support two people. But when I slowly approach him, he instead pulls me in and tucks me against his chest, back to front. His arms snake around my body, holding me tight, and with the steaming hot water and the press of his hot body behind me, I still shiver like I’m cold.

He’s terrifying, even after everything he’s done to me. I don’t know how he can expect me to just be okay with this, with being naked and laying on his body in the bathtub.

“Relax,” he mutters into my ear, prying my hands away from where I’m covering myself. The water is thankfully full of suds, so I don’t feel too exposed as I slink down far enough to cover my chest. “You’re so tense.”

I nod, but I don’t say anything. His hands wrap around my shoulders, squeezing gently and rubbing my skin with his rough palms and fingers. It’s way too soothing to be him, but strangely enough, it fits him and his way of treating me.

It’s…nice.

I don’t say that out loud, though. I mean, how could I? Instead, I keep my mouth shut and let him touch me. Not that I have much of a choice anyway.

We stay in the water until it turns cold, but even then, we stay some more. I don’t know how or when, but I eventually manage to fall asleep with his arms wrapped around me.

---

Another week has passed, and I’m wandering the halls I’ve been allowed to explore. It’s not much, and I’m fairly certain I’ve seen everything there is to see, but with little else to do, I explore everything again. I found some books in one room a few days ago actually, but unsure if I could take them or not, I let them be.

But I’m bored out of my mind, frankly, so I’m going to see if I can sneak them back to my room from under my dress.

I haven’t seen Sebastian in a few days. I don’t know what he does when he’s not with me, but I imagine it consists of his kingly duties like tending to his court or torturing innocents. You know, normal vampire things.

It’s nice to be away from him, to be honest. Everyone keeps acting like I’m his pet at best and his property at worst. Not having to be constantly reminded of it is nice, even if some stupid part of me misses him.

Like it or not, he’s one of only two people in this hell that have shown me any kindness. Elana is one thing, but she can’t be any more than a servant I’ve been forced to become acquaintances with. I don’t know if we’d be friends in any other circumstance, and I’m frankly not even convinced she’d make time for me if she didn’t have to.

But Sebastian has zero obligation to me, and had originally planned to just kill me off. But instead he wants to keep me. Whatever that means.

But it does mean he’s treating me nicely, at least compared to his horrible friends and compatriots. I once ran into Owen in the hall just a few days ago, and the glare he gave me could’ve killed me if I didn’t turn my eyes away from him as we passed by each other.

I don’t really know what his problem with me is. It’s not me who decided to stay here. If he’s going to be angry with anyone, it should be his king, not his prisoner.

I continue walking closer to the room where I found the books. It’s a small library of some kind, and as I make my way inside, the delicious smell of old books wafts to my nostrils.

I take a deep breath as I walk over to the bookshelf. It’s clean, but it doesn’t really look like it gets much love. Maybe Sebastian isn’t a big fan of reading, which is fair enough.

I pull out a book from the shelf and begin thumbing through it. It’s old, and looks to be a history book of some kind, but just as I put it away on a nearby table, I feel a gloved hand wrap over my mouth.

I shriek, fighting and kicking as a large arm is wrapped around my waist. When I’m pulled tightly against the chest of my attacker, it feels like armour. A guard?

I don’t care who’s attacking me, so I kick and fight and scratch and do whatever I can to get away until finally, he releases me.

“Fucking shit,” he groans as he backs off, gently pressing the back of his hand against the scratch mark I gave him on his cheek. “I’m just trying to help you.”

I breathe heavily while looking at him. He’s young, at least for a vampire. If he was human, I’d guess him to be around my age or a little bit older. “By cornering me and attacking me!?” I shriek in anger.

“I had to make sure you didn’t scream and alert the guards, okay?” He looks pleading. My eyes dart over his shoulder at the exit, and he follows the motion. “Please just let me explain, Anastasia.”

I almost ask him how he knows my name before I realise how stupid of a question that would be. “You try anything and I’ll scream,” I threaten, but I probably just sound like a mouse doing its best attempt at a roar.

He nods. “I’m Adam.” He pauses, as though he expects me to say something, but I just stare at him. “Look, I know a way to get you out of here,” he suddenly blurts.

“What?”

“Like I said, I just want to help you. I want to help you escape.” He straightens. “I can’t even imagine the horrible things the king has done to you, Anastasia. And I want to help you get home, okay?”

My heart in my throat, I ask, “What’s in it for you?” If there’s anything I’ve learned about vampires, it’s that they’re all liars and cheats.

“Nothing,” he says, surprising me. “Nothing other than clearing my conscience.”

“I’m not the only human prisoner you people have in here,” I retort. “Why me?”

He pauses, looking nervous. “I can’t help everyone,” he admits. “But I can help you. And if that does something good for you and your loved ones, then I’ll die satisfied.”

I don’t even know this man, yet he seems so sincere and friendly I find it difficult not to trust him. I know I shouldn’t, but if I don’t escape soon, then I’m sure my stay here will only turn worse. I need to take this chance, even if it’s a fool’s chance.

“Okay,” I nod. “What’s the plan, then?” My tone is probably a little more clipped and curt than it should be, given that he offered to risk his life for me, but I’m still terrified of him to a degree. Oh, and he’s still blocking the damn door.

“I don’t know yet,” he says, and I have to swallow a groan. “But I’m working on it, I promise. I have an idea, but it’s risky. I need to know if you’re okay with that.”

I nod. “Of course I am.”

“Okay.” He backs away, pausing at the door. “I’ll be back soon. Stay strong..”

I don’t get a chance to say goodbye or thank you before he dashes out the door, closing it behind him.

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