I Asked You

-Recommended song: Tamino— You Don't Own Me—

*

Perhaps because she had lowered her guard and fell asleep earlier but the fever that was making her sway last night had turned to completely scorching her entire body from the inside. Bella could barely keep her eyes open. She felt as if her knees scraped to the carpeted floor as if she had turned into a sack full of potatoes that were being dragged around. The two knights that had pulled her shoulders on the left and right side, however, paid no heed to the fact that she seemed ill or that she was breathing heavily like someone who had run for miles. They had been given an order and these knights knew better than to fail the demands of vampires as humans themselves.

Between her hazy gaze, Bella saw the rooms tilting above her. It was as if she had swerved around and now her head was a mess. She could see the blinding sparkles of the hanging chandelier, the golden accented the olive green wall of the castle, and the red carpet that continuously chafed against her skin. It was then that the knights pushed her forward into a door.

"Go inside," demanded the knight. The other knight wasn't quite as patient as the one who had ordered her. He opened the door and grabbed her by the back of her dress which caused her to choke as the dress caught her neck. She felt her entire body aching, her tears were boiling on the rim of her eyes which she blinked away. Everything wasn't going well and it was worse that she was going to meet death in this situation where she could not even use her mind to face what was about to unfold.

"Finally," said Minister Rueben. The voice was so familiar that it made her skin flinched. She looked upward and then turned to her back, seeing that the knights had closed the door with a click that made her blood run cold.

Her lips stammered, "W- What do you want?"

"A slave demanding someone above her rank for an answer?" Minister Rueben's hand viciously caught her jaw and she felt her body floating from the ground to the sky. The man had raised her whole body single handedly with no effort and that was enough to make her fearful as she realized the physical difference between a human and a vampire. "I remember you. I heard your words when you yelled to Anderickk. It's quite fascinating— a human who doesn't feel fear. For us vampires, our long lives tend to become extremely boring and bleak. It is good to see something to stir our bland days but you manage to get on my nerves and you have only yourself to blame."

The vampire's words fell all over her ears. She knew she had to get herself together to understand and make out the words coming from his ears as her mind was refusing to cooperate. Despite her mind being unable to understand and figure out the words, her body was quick to reel the fear to her marrow. She knew that this vampire was going to kill her. The red in his eyes was screaming his desire to kill her.

"Speak, entertain me. Aren't you good at talking back at those stronger than you?" Ruben taunted, his smile widening as he relished his delight in seeing fear written over the lowly slave he had bought. "Speak human!"

Gritting her teeth, although she was fearful, anger took over her, "How can I speak?" Bella felt Rueben's hands tightening even more around her neck, his fingers caught her throat, and speaking was even harder by the passing second. "You're holding me by my throat."

"Hah!" Rueben was amused. He threw her across the ground.

She watched as the man carefully walked over to her and she scrambled backward. Clumsily, she picked herself to stand and felt her back pressed to the sharp corner of the desk. Her body yelped, her throat burned, and her wrists were aching terribly. Everything was too agonizing and the vampire in front of her was nothing less than a monster.

"Even in front of death your smart mouth won't relent," he commented, "I commend you human for your bravery. But yes, killing you wouldn't be fun yet."

Bella glared her green eyes over the vampire, seeing that he seemed more spirited about playing with her until she was dead. She realized this was what the "Toys" were used in this vampiric castle. It was to make these vampires feel a sense of relish, a sort of power play, where they would convince themselves of the truth that they are the strongest beings in Versailles, a monster humans should fear and bow down to.

She knew it would do her no good to talk back to the Vampire but at the same time, she also knew if she didn't talk back, she would die now and then. Her eyes looked around toward the door behind Rueben, a ticket for her escape.

She wanted to leave and her body was going to rush to reach the door but Rueben's fingers had grabbed her by her stomach, slamming her entire body to the desk and causing for her back to be pierced by some of the items that were sharp enough like the crystal paperweight that was settled on the desk. Pain tore her skin, and Bella gritted her teeth, feeling her stomach churn.

Rueben, on the other hand, was smiling sadistically. It was in his blood to enjoy tormenting humans but oddly Bella had triggered something that made him much more bloodthirsty than usual. To add, her blood smelled so wonderful. It was the sweetest scent of blood he had ever smelled in his life. It smelled like a ripe peach, juicy and beguiling. The humans don't know the scent of blood but this made him drool in thirst.

Bella tried to escape. She still can run, thought her but alas those wishes vanished after being pinned down to the desk. When she saw Rueben hovering in front of her after slamming her body, she felt a different kind of fear succumbing to her bones. The vampire grinned wildly, "It won't be fun to just kill you. You need to suffer even more."

Her lips were quivering, "W- Why are you doing this to me?!"

"Because it's fun?" Rueben passed off the information as if it was nothing of a big deal. His fingers then crawled to her stomach making her heart race like loud drums, almost bruising her chest. Her eyes roamed as she realized that the vampire's eyes had turned different from wanting to kill her. She craned her neck to the sides, seeing the quill that was beside her head and how the vampire's hands had now slipped under her skirt. She gritted her teeth, her nausea rising to her throat as she recalled pieces and memories of her childhood.

Once... she remembered being pinned down like this before. What happened after that?

Bella didn't remember. In fact, she couldn't remember what had happened. She was so young back then. She was kidnapped. Although it was unheard of for an unknown girl to be kidnapped by a group of cults, she was one of the girls who was kidnapped. They pinned her down, they drew their finger with blood over her forehead, and then.. and then...

"No.. stop!" She begged, "Please— stop! Don't... don't do this!"

"Oh, you're crying now? You're going to be a fun prey," said Rueben as he leaned his neck down, his fangs bared against her skin. "Your life in this castle is going to be hell, human."

Her green eyes widened in shock, her chest rising and falling with the ragged breaths that escaped her lips. The wooden desk bore the marks of her desperation, her nails having carved deep grooves into its surface. The quill pen lay forgotten beneath her trembling fingers until her hand instinctively wrapped around it.

Rueben had withdrawn his hand to adjust his shirt, allowing for a brief window where she could free herself. Before she could fully register her actions, her body moved on its own, driven by an adrenaline-fueled mixture of terror and fury. The quill was no longer just an instrument of writing— it was a weapon.

She raised it with shaking hands, her grip ironclad, and plunged it into the soft flesh of his neck. The motion was swift, the resistance brief. A gasp caught in her throat as Rueben staggered, his crimson blood spraying in an arc that stained her dress and face in warm, sticky streaks.

Her hands trembled violently as she watched the vampire clutch his neck, his eyes wide with a mix of disbelief and rage. The quill, still embedded in his skin, quivered from the force of her attack.

"I... I begged you to stop. I asked you... I told you to stop," she whispered angrily, her voice breaking as tears began to stream down her face. Her fingers, stained red, trembled at her sides as the weight of her actions sank in. 

Her body swayed, her skin was already pierced and wounded with blood and her fever was sky high.

The next thing she knew, she had fallen to the ground, her body sprawled as her consciousness had dipped into darkness.

Not many knew what had happened in Rueben's room. Earlier that morning he had warned people not to enter his office so he could relish his sadistic nature. It was something every servant in the castle knew and they knew best not to come while a vampire was feeding unless they wanted themselves to be the next livestock for the vampire's gratification.

But not long after, someone had opened the door. His bloody crimson eyes stared at the scene with a frown. His black polished shows gleamed as he stepped over the bath of blood that had presented in front of his feet. He thought that both of them were dead as he was about to leave the scene but he caught the faint breathing that heaved the human girl's chest up and down.

The man stopped his movement almost instantly. His gaze now landed on the girl's hair which was red with a hint of brown and her eyes that were shut tightly while she was clenching tightly to her murder weapon.

Seeing what had unfolded, his grin slowly crept on the corner of his lips, his fingers cracking in joy, "How amusing." He then went over to the girl, bending down to carry her body, leaving the scene behind him while he hummed a song between his lips.