The Vampire King’s Captive

MARIA

Tears sprang in her eyes as she thought about how viciously the vampire went about finding his sister. He’d risked his life by storming one of the most powerful sorcerer’s castle unharmed. He’d captured her, tortured her, anything to get the location of his sister.

He was ruthless, and he’d never given up.

Why then was her own father treating her this way?

The only reason he’d fought to get her back-and not as viciously-was because of what she had to offer. He’d also said that she was of more importance to him now and even though she didn’t really understand that statement, she knew that it had to be for one of his selfish reasons.

Was that supposed to make her feel better?

It made her feel worse!

She didn’t realised that she’d been crying until she felt a tear tickle her nose and she wiped it away, sniffling silently.

Get it together, Maria, she thought sternly, trying to pull herself together.

Crying wasn’t going to make her feel better and it definitely wasn’t going to get her out of here.

To take her mind off her situation, she decided to get to know the girl in the next cell a little bit more.

“You said you saw me come in here?” When the girl said, ‘yes’, she asked. “How long have you been in here then?”

“I…” The girl’s hesitation was obvious and Maria got the feeling that she was contemplating over telling her the truth. She was probably wondering if she could trust her.

That had a small smile touching Maria’s lips. Hadn’t she just been thinking the same thing a few minutes ago?

“I can tell you’re close to the man who just left here and, honestly, I’m not sure how much I can trust you.”

Maria frowned in confusion before remembering that her father had come to see her and they’d talked. She’d almost forgotten that the girl was sitting right there which meant that she’d heard everything.

Maria hurried to assure her. “You can trust me. I have… There is no love lost between the both of us.”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“Is he your boyfriend?”

A crease formed between Maria’s brows. “Boyfriend?”

“Yeah, is he?” The girl pressed.

“I don’t know what that means. Do you mean a boy who happens to be my friend?” She asked. “If that’s what you mean, then no, he’s not. ”

She heard a huff of laughter and reluctantly, a smile pulled at Maria’s lips even though she really didn’t understand why the girl was laughing. Had she said something funny?

“No, that’s not what I mean.” She said in between bouts of laughter. “I mean, is he like, you know…. your lover.”

Oh.

That was what she meant.

A reaction that the dirty cell had not been able to elicit out of her, the thought of her father being her lover did it and it was out of sheer will-and knowing that she would not see water to clean up-that she fought back the incredible urge to vomit.

“Oh, gods no. He’s not.” She shivered again. “Not at all.”

“Oh.” The girl laughed even more before she finally sobered up. “Okay, then. I’m sorry, I just assumed because you guys sounded… close? I think.” She paused. “How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Twenty-three. Why?”

“I just… I don’t know.” She could picture the girl that sounded a lot like a teenager shrugging. “I don’t mean this in a rude way but shouldn’t a girl of your age know what a boyfriend is? You must have had a couple.”

Maria couldn’t even take offense if she wanted to, but she did feel a bit ashamed that she hadn’t had one. And because she didn’t want to delve into a long explanation as to why she hadn’t, she decided to change the topic.

“So,” she urged, making deliberate effort to hide the sadness she felt from her voice. “How long have you been in here?”

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her hands around them. Suddenly, she realised that the hollow feeling in her chest had dissapeared and she no longer felt as lonely as she did before.

She knew it was because she now had someone to talk to and silently, she sent a prayer up to the gods in thanks.

“Actually, I’ve been in here for about three months.” The girl spoke up again and Maria’s eyes widened.

Three months in this cell?

She’d spent weeks in the vampire’s cell and she’d almost run mad. How had this girl managed to survive?

“Shit. That’s a long time.”

“Yeah. Honestly, this might sound crazy, but I’m not in a hurry to leave.” The girl told her and Maria was just about to ask why when the girl continued. “I’ve got nothing to look forward to when I leave. Absolutely nothing at all. There’s nothing waiting for me on the other side.”

Maria’s heart gave a sharp pang.

Those words… She understood them so much because she was going through the same thing. Maria had nothing to look forward to when she left. The only difference between her and the girl was that she-Maria-actually wanted to leave. She just didn’t know where she would go.

“Don’t you have a home?” Maria asked her. “Parents? Siblings?”

“I do have a home, but can it really be called a home anymore? My parents were killed right before my very eyes and as for siblings, I have a brother but I rarely see him.”

“Your parents were killed in front of you?”

Gods, how traumatising the experience must have been for her. No child deserved to watch their parents being killed in front of them.

“They were. By an evil sorceress,” she confirmed, and Maria froze, her muscles knotting as tension stole through her. “Right before they captured me and brought me here. So, yes, I really do not have anything to go back to.”

Oh gods.

Oh fuck, fuck, fuck.

The girl kept on talking, but Maria wasn’t paying attention anymore.

Her heart was slamming against her ribcage like a jackhammer and her fingers were shaking around her legs.

The girl in the cell next to her…

The girl she’d been talking to for the past hour was none other than the vampire’s sister.