The Haunted Castle of Geblüt

Trigger Warning: Contains intense scenes of attempted sexual abuse.

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Feed on blood. What does that even mean? The kings ate blood? Why had this never come to light as King Horst's tastes had?

Did that mean his majesty ate blood? How? She had never seen him eat anything but the same food she ate.

"I don't understand." She said frankly.

"Neither do I." Douglas sighed. He stood and she waited for an answer but she only watched as he walked to a door and disappeared behind it.

Before she could think about the fact she'd received more questions than answers, the fire went out.

Her eyes widened and her lips parted nervously.

All of Douglas's words from that morning flooded back and she stood. King Horst had been real, and she believed that the curse was real. But she did not want to believe in the ghoul.

She spun in the dark library. She couldn't see her hands in front of her. How had the coals so suddenly gone out? There wasn't even heat ebbing from it.

She spun and a light whimper left her lips when she heard something.

Her heart pounded in her ears and hindered her hearing. She strained her eyes as best she could, but she still could not see a single thing.

Footsteps came from her left and she spun again, her cloak brushing something on the ground.

Her breath changed to nearly hysterical gasps and she backed towards where she thought the door should be. She stumbled against a bookshelf that was much closer than she thought it would be.

She grasped it and leant against it. She closed her mouth in an attempt to silence her noisy breaths.

Her eyes darted around aimlessly; trying to spot something, anything in the dark.

"Douglas?" The sudden thought that the old man had come back for some reason occurred to her.

When she heard no reply she slunk further back into the library.

One step after the other she slowly crept backwards. Her annoying heart still pounded in her ears and drowned whatever noise was in the library.

Why had she come out here? Why had she been so foolish?

"Mirella.."

She jumped and a small shriek escaped her lips from the voice only a few metres from her.

She spun around at the sound of footsteps in the opposite direction.

Who was in there with her? A notion that it was the ghoul appeared in her mind and her adrenaline filled body turned icy cold. She didn't want to be stuck in there with the spirit of King Horst.

She heard someone's tongue clicking to her left and she spun again, her arms moving to hit the unseen person.

She gasped shrilly when she felt a vicelike hand grip her forearm. He raised it above her head and pinned it against whatever hard surface was behind her.

"Very dangerous to be in a haunted castle alone." The chilling voice said and she froze. Her instincts fled her as her eyes found a pair of red ones in the dark. "Very dangerous indeed."

This was wrong. What was happening? Her mind was panicking yet her body had given up.

His body suddenly pressed against hers and she felt a hand raise her skirts and brush against her leg. She gasped and looked around, knowing there was no one to help.

"Help!"

She whimpered at the feel of something cutting into her leg.

"Help."

She gasped and turned her head to the right when she felt a gust of wind from there.

She heard a growl from her captor and then was pushed harshly to the ground. She stumbled and attempted to stand but felt arms grab hers. She panicked and began swatting at him, whimpering as she did.

What was happening?

"Quiet!"

She had to because of his painful grip on her wrists. She folded her lips and held in a whimper.

But he did nothing. He simply held her there, his grip unrelenting.

She closed her eyes and felt a tear drop from them. Was she going to die, or have some unspeakable thing done to her? She had told herself never to come again to this library and she'd ignored herself.

Her right leg began to give out and she winced when she felt the pain in her thigh.

She gasped and stumbled back when in the next instant she was in her room. She looked to the man that had brought her here and her jaw fell open when she saw it was the king.

"How-this-this..how, I don't-I don't-I don't understand." She tripped and landed on the arm of her couch. She held her head and stared at the ground. What was happening?

"You're bleeding." He stated and she looked up at him.

Where was Vivian?

The king took a step forward and she flinched, "H-he-he cut me."

"Where?"

She inhaled a tremulous breath at the humiliation of where it was and placed her hand on her thigh, feeling more tears spring into place.

"Remove your cloak." He said roughly and she watched him walk to a chest on the far side of the room. When he returned she saw a bottle labeled "liquor" and a roll of bandage.

He stood there and she hesitantly raised her eyes to look at his face.

"Remove your cloak."

"Oh." She whispered in a trembling breath and her shaking fingers rose to unlace it.

The heavy cloak fell from her shoulders and to the couch behind her. She gasped in fear when he started to pull her dress up. She scrambled away and winced as she stood on her leg.

He let out a sigh of frustration.

"I-I'll do it. Just leave." She needed to be alone to process all these things. But she wasn't very safe alone, she thought as she recalled last night, when that supposed brother-of-the-king visited her.

"And do you know what you're doing?" He asked with a bite to his voice.

Her lip trembled and she shook her head, "No."

She sat on the couch and succumbed to her tears. She gasped and removed her hands from her eyes to see the king slowly pulling up her dress. He didn't once look at her and she only watched cautiously as he pushed it above her thigh. Where the cut was.

It looked worse than she thought. The pale flesh had been cut quite deep and bloody.

She looked up at the king and was glad he was not looking at her blushing face. She knew it was indecent and improper to appear in such a form before any man. But, the king was her husband, she supposed this was allowed.