Chapter 10: Your Urge For My Blood

Inara glanced at him expectantly, but he quickly sank on his knees in surrender. Basil was not expecting him to surrender, knowing the peril that awaited.

"What a beautiful decision! Do you know what I wanted in return?" Basil asked, mockingly, trailing his eyes over Inara, "I want her!" he announced, pointing to Inara gigging, her eyes widening in surprise and terror.

"So, shall it be?" the King murmured maliciously, flashing a smile at Basil, "She's yours now; yours to tame,"

Immediately, Basil's guards raced over to her and sought to haul her away, but Yivanne held her firmly with all the energy in her, "Please don't take her away; leave her alone," she screamed, pushing Inara closer to herself, just as Inara was attempting to free herself from their hard grasp.

"Stop this, please," Yivanne begged, confronting Forest, knowing it was part of the rule that the loser had to offer anything the winner requested. 

However, he felt helpless to accomplish what she had wanted, "I can't, I'm sorry; it's already been made," he answered gently, causing tears to stream down Yivanne's face.

Watching Inara taken away made her lose her mind– What if he treated her the same way she was handled at the black market? Or even worse than how her parents treated her? Even more!

Alexander remained silent, but he was filled with rage inside.

—----

Basil stepped into the room that he instructed his men to lock her in. As expected, she was crying hard, her head between her legs.

"Just stop crying," Basil said severely, but Inara ignored him entirely, and her cries forcefully echoed in his mind, "Raise up your head!" he yelled, and out of terror, Inara raised her head slightly on the floor.

"You are gorgeous, which is why I do not want you to cry; instead, I want to see your beautiful face. However, I brought you here for a good reason," Basil replied, smirking, sending hard shivers down Inara's body.

"Please, let me go; I promise to repay you," Inara begged, "Explain why you want me to liberate you. Does that have anything to do with you eyeing my brother?" 

Inara's heart sank completely when she heard Basil's questions, "Your Highness, I would not dare do so. I am merely a servant of the..., "Really?" Basil chuckled and moved closer to her.

"Yes, Your Highness," Inara admitted, her voice trembling and strained with anxiety, "If you were just a servant to him, why is it obvious he quit because of you?" Basil inquired, with a mischievous expression.

"That's not true, Your Highness. Perhaps Your Highness isn't clear enough about this information," Basil angrily, closed the distance between them in a minute and sitting in front of her.

"Your Highness?" Inara gasped, attempting to move his hand away from her throat, but he squeezed his fingers hard on her tiny neck.

"So, technically, you are calling me a liar, right? Have you gone nuts? You have no right to say anything unless I specifically ask you to, understand!?"

"Yes, Your Highness; I won't make it repeat itself," Inara muttered, gasping. Basil realized what had happened and carefully released his fingers from her neck.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," he muttered, sounding like an apology, and leaned closer to her, but she backed away.

He grabbed her hair and kissed it, "See you soon; and I don't want to see you cry," Basil lifted his eyebrows at her, trying to detect a hint of submission, but found none.

"Try not to leave this room, or you'll be severely punished," he warned before storming out of the room. 

Inara burst into tears instantly, she was starting to miss Alexander, "I wish I hadn't forced you to quit! Please forgive me, Young Master," she wailed, crying uncontrollably.

—----

Forest is spotted squatting in front of Alexander's room; he has not gone inside for hours.

"I am sorry, Young Master. I should have stopped her," he said, raising his brow at his door, hoping to hear something.

"Young Master, I'll alone accept responsibility for it, and…, "Leave my sight!" Alexander stated coldly and commandingly, and without more ado, Forest left his door.

Meanwhile, Alexander was battling his inner demon; his fangs and cannies were fully erect, and he was not healing.

He was hurting internally because he was unable to heal. 

But what may be the cause of his unexpected weakness?

—----

A startling knock caused Inara to raise her head, and the door instantly swung open, exposing a maid strolling in.

"I was told to take you out of your room; would you love to see how the castle looks like?" The maid inquired nonchalantly, but Inara shook her head in protest.

"But, His Highness gave me an order to do anything to make you feel at home," the maid objected, slightly anxious.

"Is it possible I would be able to leave here?" Inara inquired, this time lifting her eyebrows at the maid, whose gaze never met hers.

"I'm not sure about that; I apologize. But, please allow me to make you feel at peace," the maid pleaded, going to her knees.

------

The maid offered Inara several sword skills books in various styles; it took her six attempts to discover books that suited her taste.

"May I ask why you wanted to read about fighting?" she inquired, rearranging the volumes in their customary location.

"I just don't want to be a burden to him again," Inara whispered honestly, but the maid misinterpret her words.

"You mean His Highness?"

"No, Young. Yes, I mean, His Highness," Inara replied unwillingly, her gaze fixed on the book. She wanted to learn to fight, because she doesn't wants to be a liability to her spouse.

"Oh, you may proceed," the maid answered, smiling.

After a few hours, Inara had memorized some essential sword fighting concepts. She read a lot of books about it, but when she tried to practice herself, she failed every time.

"You don't need to be furious at yourself; maybe your body isn't ready for martial arts yet. How about you try horseback riding?" As the maid recommended, Inara's eyes lit up with a smile.

They cannot be questioned because of who brought her to his castle. Instead, do what they asked for in the blink of an eye.

Thereafter, some servants brought horses of various sizes to the training ground. The maid, a pro at horseback riding, agreed to tutor her.

"Hop on the horse," she directed, and Inara promptly obey to her suprior's order. Walking cautiously approached the horse, she seized the rope tightly, causing the horse to neigh.

"Be careful how you mount on it," the maid warned, and Inara gave herself a heart-felt boost of confidence and courage before riding the horse.

The impact of the sudden mounting caused the horse to elevate its four legs in opposition with its new Master.

"Calm down, Flower," the maid cajoled the horse, touching her hair tenderly. Flower grew calm enough to accept her new Master.

"Now start riding slowly. It'll get to the point where you need to move faster," the maid replied, and Inara began moving slowly.

—---

Flower rode far away from the castle and threw her down, leaving Inara to find her own way of survival. The Empire was vast, and she realized she had lost her destination. She regained her footing and began walking through a narrow path, despite her legs being weak.

Her legs had gotten too weak to carry on for long due to the numerous bruises covering her body. As she struggled to find her destination, a cold arm seized her and dragged her away from her former location.

—---

"What were you doing there?" Alexander inquired after they arrived at his room, "I lost my way," she responded.

"And is this related to your injuries? Why are there so many bruises on you, wifey?" 

Inara went silent for a few seconds, unable to think of anything decent to say.

"Don't try to lie to me, wifey; I always know when you tell lies," Alexander said suspiciously. Inara nibbled her bottom lip and resolved to be honest with him.

"I tried to learn to ride a horse, but it was a futile effort. I acquired those injuries because I couldn't ride a horse, "Why do you want to learn how?"

"It's obvious Young Master abandoned me because I am such a weak wife, and he never tried to get me back from his brother," Inara whispered sadly, her voice conveying less happiness.

"I didn't forsake you; I just wanted it to be the right time. Getting you back immediately would raise suspicions. Was it why you nearly died?"

"I'm sorry, I thought you don't want me again," Inara pouted regretfully, and Alexander simply nodded, "You need to be treated; you smell of blood, wifey,"

"You can smell my blood?"

"Yes. Isn't it evident that you smell like blood?" Alexander took out some treatment oils, "Your neck bleeds really bad, let's get it treated first," Inara stepped closer to him, but as he wanted to apply the oils, he felt hesitant and a negative notion crept into his mind as he saw her blood flowing non-stop.

"Young Master, what's wrong with you? Do you by any chance felt the urge again?" she said nervously, narrowing her brow at him. Alexander gave a kind nod of agreement as she stutters.

Inara grew afraid, but her anxiety quickly evaporated and was replaced with determination, "Bite me, then," 

"But I doubt I'd be able to resist the impulse like the first time. I'm going to bite you deeply, more than the first time, wifey," Alexander muttered, not wanting to injure her any further.

"If you can't resist my blood when you see it, don't suppress it. I will…," Alexander quickly drove his cannies deep into her neck, interrupting her statement.

Though his want for her blood was strong, Inara attempted to overcome the internal anguish she felt; she did not want to force him to drive away the yearning like the first time because she was unable to withstand it.

Alexander realized her blood was tastier than any other blood, and the more he drank it, the stronger the craving became.

But something unexpected happened when he heard her whimpering silently in discomfort, which he assumed was due to him biting her too hard.

However, it went beyond his expectations when he witnessed his wounds heal miraculously, faster than usual, while Inara became tensely weaker.