27

Regan was sitting on the bed, staring at the weird flame dancing on her nails. It felt like surreal. That was all she have been doing. Althea had brought her food and told her that if she didn't eat, it would be bad. Regan had eaten, but she couldn't shake away the dread. She was on the edge, expecting him to burst in within the second. And that....that lover of his, Vesper. What the hell was going on? Why her name was Vesper?

She wondered what her aunt was doing, what she was thing. But she knew that her aunt's thoughts would never reach the extent into thinking that her niece was abducted by aliens.

"Oh God....This is so strange," Regan murmured, trying to keep a smile away from her lips. She wasn't smiling because she was abducted, or because of the things Althea told her. She was smiling because of her powers. Because she was more than she had ever seen herself as. She didn't even remember the last time she had smiled genuinely.

She started singing. She had been doing that a lot lately. It helped her calm down and escape from the loneliness and the weight of her situation. It was a random song she had heard. 

But the calmness didn't last. She felt a presence. The same she felt on Earth. The same she felt when she would do her homework in her own house. Her voice faded away and she was left with the feeling of being watched.

"Damnit," she cursed under her breath. A few moments later, she wasn't feeling it anymore. She waited and then sighed, starting to sing again.

But then, her singing was interrupted once more. The doors swung open, and there was him, the demon lord. She was bewildered. Hadn't she locked the door? Did he hear her singing? How embarrassing.

He stepped in, his long robe flowing elegantly around him. His signature smirk was plastered across his face, making Regan scowl.

"You don't know how to knock on a door, do you?" Regan spat, her voice laced with irritation and anger. She couldn't believe he entered like that. And when she remembered she saw him last night, she felt a wave of embarrassment.

"I know that you have a lovely voice," he retorted, his own voice husky, almost hypnotic. He closed the door behind him, and leaned against it, watching her carefully. "And I'm the master of this castle, I don't have to knock on my own rooms. And you could've locked the door, you know?"

Regan's scowl deepened, but she swallowed hard, trying to keep her cool, "What do you want?" she demanded, her voice sharp and cold. 

Sirius took a deliberate step closer, his presence oppressive enough to enclose the space without him getting even close, "This is a question I should ask you, Miss Red. What were you looking for yesterday in my bedchamber?"

"I wanted nothing, but to escape," Regan snapped, barely able to hold her anger.

"You're a smart girl, Regan," Sirius said, his voice now a low purr that sent a wave of repulsion through her, "But smart girls should know when to keep their mouth shut." His eyes scanned the room, narrowing, assessing, and fell on her again, "Did you eat?"

Regan gritted her teeth. "Why do you care?"

"Who said I care?" His eyes were now sharp, cutting and the coldness in them was palpable, "I just don't want you to starve," he paused before adding, "Not yet."

Regan stood up from where she was sitting, "Well, I'd rather starve then."

"Feisty, I see," he drawled, pushing himself off the door, his expression now unreadable, but a dangerous edge in his voice, "but you forget I'm the one in charge here."

"I don't care who's in charge," Regan shot back, holding his gaze when all she wanted was to jump out from that window and never see him again. He stepped closer, looking at her with a hawk-like gaze that she felt like her defenses were stripping. "Get out of here," Regan said firmly, trying to ignore the way her heart was pounding.

"Disrespect is not a good weapon, little girl," Sirius said, the mockery in his voice icy, yet tinged with a sense of amusement, "Not with me anyway." His eyes flickered to the window, letting the words hang in.

The air became even more suffocating, and Regan could feel her chest tightening, either from his words, either just his presence, "You don't tell me what to do," she hissed back, "And there's not even air in this room!"

Sirius's eyes snapped to hers, "If you wouldn't try to escape," he said, lowering his voice in a silky tone over thorns, "maybe I'd consider transferring you to my own."

Regan's eyes widened slightly at his bluntness and she could feel her blood boiling with a mix of anger and confusion. How dare he? Like she was part of his sick games with women. "How dare you talk to me like that?" she retorted, holding still onto her pride, "I'd sooner rot in the dungeons than be in your room."

Sirius leaned off the window and took a menacing step towards her, his eyes narrowing with a perilous glint, "I'm your captor, you forgot that? I kidnapped you. Do you know what it means? I could've chained you. I've could tied you to some hellhole. And yet you think you can have a say in where you sleep?"

Regan took another step back, his words slithering in her mind with an undertone that only raised her self-defenses, "Why am I here?" she asked, hating how her voice trembled. 

Sirius's smirk reappeared, his eyes gleaming with an emotion she couldn't quite pinpoint. "Because you're my enemy," he replied, taking a step towards her, "And keeping my enemies close is always best."

The anger in Regan's veins was still there, growing with each word of his, "I'm not your enemy," she spat out, "I'm not your anything! I'll find a way out of here, and then you'll see. You won't be able to stop me."

His expression darkened, the ice in his eyes taking a crimson dangerous quality that and for a moment she thought he'd strike her. But then, it turned back to a chilling calmness, that scared her even more, "You really want so much to leave? Leave then, the door is open. Go." With a flick of his fingers, the doors swung open, swirling the air from the hallway.

Regan stared at the door, but she didn't move. He didn't move either, knowing she couldn't go anywhere. Regan hated that he knew that, she could see it in his expression, in how he spoke with so much confidence and sarcasm, "You're not fooling anyone, Regan. And if you think I can't bring you to my own room, you're dead wrong."

Regan felt something snap within her and she found herself retorting before she thought it much, "You're immoral," she said through gritted teeth, "but I'm not here for that. And even if you think I am, you're so wrong."

She saw something unreadable flicker in his eyes, as if he hadn't expected her calling him immoral. His expression darkened further, and he stepped ever closer, reaching to slip his fingers through her hair. Regan flinched away, her breath catching.

"You don't know anything about me," Sirius murmured, his eyes icy. "But you'll learn, my dear. And maybe you'll see I'm not that bad."

Regan's thoughts were a blend of fear and disgust. What if he was planning....the thought made her shiver. What if he was planning to use her as his plaything? No, she wasn't like that, to be his....no, she couldn't finish it.

"Get the hell away from me, you demon," Regan's voice was sharp, she walked backwards, further away from him, "Don't come close to me again."

But the look he gave was one that silently told he wasn't going to comply. "You touch nothing in this room, Miss Red," he remarked calmly, crossing his arms, "Not even the books. What has happened? You've lost your tastes because of me?"

The implication of his words was so blunt. She didn't know what to say for a moment.

"If you wish for a different genre, you can tell me. I'm always happy to oblige.... So, you won't speak," he added after a while, his eyes never leaving hers. "Fear not, Miss Red. You'll speak and you'll speak well when you learn whose blood runs in your veins."

It were those the ominous words he said before leaving, slamming the door shut behind him. Regan stared with a racing heart, and for some reason she felt a pang of a new type of fear. What could've that last tense meant?

He for his own part, turned back to his dark confinement, closing the door behind him. He had to get off his mind for a while, so his hand over the backs of the books in one of the bookshelves, searching for worth to read. His hand landed on an old ancient tome, the cover filled with dust. He grabbed it and threw it on the table. 

He flipped through the yellow-brown old pages and started to read. But he got distracted wherever he thought about her. Her face and voice ran on his mind and everytime he wanted to focus, his mind kept betraying him. Her voice was beautiful, he had to admit. He wondered why she didn't know that.

He couldn't help but think about how she looked, her small hands balled into fists, her furrowed eyebrows creasing a line between them, and the pout in her lips. He could describe her as....cute?

No, what was he thinking? He had watched, studied her for a long time, but it hadn't been for anything else other than curiousity, her powers and the fact that she survived. Anyway, the thought that he couldn't bring himself to kill her, tormented him even more. She was his enemy, a threat to his reign, to everything. And yet, he couldn't help but admire her purity and stubbornness. It was something he had never seen before.

There was a blank rough paper behind the book and he found himself sketching some eyes, her eyes. As soon as he realized what he was doing, he burnt the paper on his hand, the ashes dusting the table.

"Damnit all!" he cursed and slammed the book shut, frustrated that he couldn't focus on any other matter except her's. 

As he gazed out of the window, he thought about his ridiculous witches, the least he wanted was to see them again, lingering near him. He couldn't stand that, he hated their invading, not only theirs. He loathed when anyone would get really close to him. He hated them all.

A sudden knock got his attention and he called for them to enter. It was was General Vlad, one of the few persons that he found logical and trusting.

"My lord, there are revelations about one of the traitors," Vlad said, his expression stoic.

"What is it?" Sirius asked sharply, looking up from the desk.

"He has spied to Magnus about our plans of conquering Evergreen. Magnus has retaliated with his own military forces. But if you wish, we'll send reinforcements."

The frustration in Sirius's expression didn't went unnoticed, "His forces? Evergreen is neutral. The hell is his military doing there? Is he looking for trouble or what?

"Our scouts have reported that his ways have influenced Evergreen's people. You know how it works," Vlad replied.

Sirius's eyes were outside, gazing at nothing in particular, "Assemble a group of our most skilled agents. We're going to Evergreen to handle this situation personally. Magnus won't interfere with our plans. And, if it escalates, make sure our military is on standby."

Vlad nodded, his expression unwavering. "As you command, my lord." He said and left the room to carry out Sirius's orders. As he departed, Sirius still couldn't shake out Regan from his mind. The conflicting emotions within him intensified, a mix of frustration and an odd fascination.

Torn between his thoughts, he started to meditate.

————

Back in her room, Regan's mind was still racing with assumptions of what he could've meant by when you learn whose blood runs in your veins. Maybe he had said it to upset and confuse her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to his words.

She was still lying on the bed when the door knob twisted. She had locked it, but it couldn't be him. If it was him, Regan would've felt something. But all she felt was now a strange unease.

She slipped off the bed, the wooden floor feeling too harsh beneath her and walked over to the door, her hand hovering over the knob. Who could it be?

With a sigh, she twisted

the key and felt the cold metal as she turned the knob, revealing someone that made freeze, her blood running cold.