Torn and Bleeding (Closed)

[_Stardust]

Closed for The Grind and I

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“Ow! Fucking ouch,” Tabby cursed, tripping over another tree root as she struggled to catch up with her friend. “Remind me again Liz, what the fuck are we doing out here?”
“We’re going to prove once and for all that there is an obvious, natural explanation for the rumours of paranormal happenings in and around these woods.” Lizzy kept walking, effortlessly avoiding every raised tree root and low hanging branch that Tabby unerringly collided with.

Effortless was the only way to describe Tabby’s friend. Tall, light haired and extremely graceful, she moved with the airy step of a cat. Tabby was also often described as feline-esque. However, she tended to put people more in the mood of a young kitten; causing mischief and then scampering away, tripping over her own paws as she went.

“Uh huh,” Tabby mumbled. “That explains why you’re here, I guess. But what am I doing in these Godforsaken woods at one in the morning?”
“You’re here because you’re my best friend, and you’d do anything for me of course.” Lizzy grinned, and gave Tabby a quick hug, who sighed but returned the gesture.
“One day that’s not going to work on me anymore,” she told her friend.
“Well I’d better make the most of it while it does,” Lizzy countered, as she pushed through a denser patch of bushes. “Anyway, we can stop here.”

They stepped out into a small clearing, and Tabby instantly flumped, cross-legged to the ground. She began trying to disentangle the small twigs and dried leaves her dark curls had collected in the twenty five minute walk. “So,” she said, looking up at her friend, “What are we trying to disprove this time?”
Liz tutted as she fussed over her camera. “Some things that may or may not be linked. A few girls have been picked up by the edge of the forest, looking a bit worse for wear, with patchy memories. A few more are apparently still missing.”

Tabby had already heard about that.
The girls who were picked up on the road at the edge of the woods had collectively been as useful as a chocolate teapot at explaining what had happened. They had been found, splashed in blood, that always turned out to be their own, but with no marks, scratches or cuts, to explain where it had come from. They normally looked a mess, wild eyed with mussed hair, but they had no recollection as to why they looked that way, or what they were even doing in the woods in the first place.

Five or six girls were missing, but one thing they all had in common, besides the fact nobody knew where they were, was that they had all been ‘trouble’. Or at least considered as such by the judgemental, small minded people who were the majority of the population of the small town she lived in. As such, they weren’t so much ‘missing’ as, ‘misplaced, but we’ll get around to looking for them at some point, we promise’. The hypocrisy of the town made her sick.
If, God forbid, she and Liz weren’t back tucked up in bed come morning, they would be deemed ‘missing’. Well, Liz certainly would. Liz would be ‘newsworthy missing’, pretty white girl, and so smart with it. Tabby, however, with her runaway daddy, and her mama who kept a roof over their heads, but nobody was quite sure how… maybe Tabby would just be ‘missing’.

Not that it really bared thinking about. Nothing would happen to them out here. Tabby was superstitious, and had always believed the old stories her mama had read to her as a child. Who was to say there weren’t really ghosts and witches and vampires and werewolfs running around. They just kept themselves hidden from disbelievers like Liz.

“And you know the old hobo who’s been living here since God only knows when?” Liz continued. “Well, he’s been finding dogs and cats, savaged to death for no good reason. No flesh eaten or anything. Just destroyed for fun. But apparently the marks don’t look like any animals teeth.”
Tabby glanced around her nervously. The moon was only a thin sliver in the sky, and the tall trees made it hard for the meagre light to have much of an effect. Together, they ensure the clearing was simply painted in dappled shades that were probably more frightening that simple darkness would have been. “So, you’ve brought me to get killed in a horrifying way. Cheers.”
“Think nothing of it,” Liz offered.
“The black girl always dies first. Just remember that.”

As Tabby finished speaking, she suddenly heard a slight noise, like quiet rustling, to the far side of the clearing, no more than a few feet from the two girls. She froze, regretting her last words.​

 

[TheGrind]

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The cumulative clouds cowered into a fog, foraging over the forest floor as though it were a starved beast wanting to end its hunger. It was the perfect night for Damien as he moved through the haze in seamless silence, prowling for the wayward stragglers that occasionally became lost in the night or were looking for an unsurprising fright. Months had passed since he’d found anyone and his Master was demanding someone new. The girl at home had worn her welcome, she was becoming stale and her sanity was so stretched that it was beginning to become frayed. The screams alone were enough to end her. But before that, Damien had to find someone new. The midnight hours were burning away fast and he knew another night’s return without victory would mean another beating; another night without eating.

The dry leaves on the ground weren’t disturbed as Damien passed over them, his feet incapable of hitting earthly ground. A leaf skipped by occasionally but was only pressed onward by the wind at his back; he’d have to face it upon his return but he knew it wouldn’t bother him. He wouldn’t be able to feel it.

By the time he heard talking he knew he ought to begin turning back but the prospect of finding more humans was too rare a find to pass up. Damien continued forward, neither trying to sneak nor burst through the clearing. His personal confidence hit high alert whenever that famous feminine scent struck his nose. But he’d only want one; he’d only need one.

From the other end of the clearing Damien seemed to light up without ceremony as a small oil lamp dangled from Damien’s hold on the handle. The flame flickered, casting eerie shadows against his face, making him seem uglier than he already was. The servant’s speed picked up suddenly and he was in front of the girls in an instant with a line of upturned dirt behind him as though a tiller had trailed behind him.

Up close the cracks and lines from ageing could be seen in his face, highlighted by the light. The cackle in his voice only extended the thought of timeless immortality as he spoke, “Ladies.” Now he could be seen fully, without the shades of the moonlight playing tricks with human eyes or his body blocked by small trees or his floating feet masked by low bushes. Damien was dressed down in nineteenth century clothes, dirtied from the walk and lack of washing but his face and hands were perfectly clean, highlighted so much more after one noticed how pale his skin was. It seemed as though death had consumed him and spat him back out into the world.

With his free hand, Damien pushed aside his button-down vest, revealing a late eighteenth century pistol. One would assume it’d have only one shot in it but one would also assume Damien should’ve been dead a long time ago. With the stench of death flowering around him, Damien demanded, “I’m going to need you to come with me.” His eyes were set on the white girl. “You’re free to go,” he looked to the other. He learned long ago that it was always good to have one run back. It’d bring others into the woods so he wouldn’t have to wait so long between finding prospective girls to feed and entertain his Master.

 

[_Stardust]

Tabby’s entire being was focussed on the other side of the clearing, listening to see if the rustling sounded again. The answering silence had almost soothed her when she saw a brief flicker of light ahead. “Liz?” she croaked.

Liz’s eyes flicked up, then returned to the camera’s lens. “Fireflies,” she said, dismissively. “Girl, you need to calm down.”

“There’s only one,” Tabby pointed out, unable to look away from the guttering light that simply couldn’t be explained away as fireflies.

“Fine then. Firefly, singular.”
But Tabby wasn’t listening anymore, because the light was doing as light was wont to do, and illuminating the surrounding area. Which in turn made it visible. All she could see, at the edge of the clearing, just behind the thin grouping of trees, was a horrendous looking thing. And to her way of thinking, that was more than enough. She grabbed at the taller girls arm. “Liz, we need to go! Now!” But even as she was speaking, suddenly it was right in front of them, without even seeming to move.

“Ladies,” it said, and she shuddered at the voice; harsh and rasping in its throat. Terror had taken over her body, her chest was tightening painfully, and she could barely manage to take the shallowest of breaths. He revealed an old, but potentially still lethal gun, and despite being absolutely terrified, Tabby still mentally scoffed at the action. You are a walking nightmare who appears to have bested death, and yet you show me a gun?! You do realise you actually just diminished your own terror rating, right?

However, as he continued speaking, the feeling of terror simply grew. He wanted to take Liz? And just send her back? Leave her alone, again? Selfish though the foundation of her emotions were, she knew she couldn’t even contemplate leaving. She’d prefer death than abandoning her best friend. She finally tore her eyes away from the creature in front of her to glance over at Liz, and the sight of the girl grinning from ear to ear almost broke her brain.
“This is fantastic!”

“Fantastic?” Taby echoed, dazedly. Did the meaning of fantastic change at some point?

“This must be a historical re-enactment. There must have been highwaymen here years ago.”

Tabby smiled sadly. Trust sensible, scientific Liz to try and come up with an explanation for this. A really rather poor explanation to be honest, but even so highwaymen camping in the middle of a regularly empty forest still ranked far higher on acceptable scenarios than potentially undead kidnappers. Rather than waste time trying to break through the girl’s self-erected barriers, Tabby turned back to the thing.

“I don’t know what you are, or what you want. But you can’t take Liz. I won’t let you.” She tried to speak with a confidence that had actually deserted her the moment she’d stepped foot in this cursed wood. “And since I really don’t see you letting us both just skip off home, you’ll have to take me instead.”​

 

[TheGrind]

Damien glanced toward the outspoken one, surprised that the other didn’t continue yammering on about stupid, hopeful situations. He was unsure of himself, if he should let the talkative one go. She seemed like an idiot and he didn’t know if anyone would believe her. However, Damien wasn’t looking for a struggle or a fight. All he wanted was a girl. As long as she had blood, tits and a pussy, nothing else mattered even if she were a photo negative of what was preferred.

“Start walking. Across the clearing,” Damien spoke in the same, worn voice before turning his attention onto the girl’s companion. Adding onto the girl’s pathetic story, he spoke, “We’ll bring her back in a while.”

Afterwards Damien doused the light just by lowering it. Not a finger touched the light to make it flicker an die. The shroud of darkness that had consumed them before he arrived had suddenly returned in force. He wasn’t going to give them any time to say goodbye. He moved between them quickly, uncaring if one or the other would fall to the ground. Maybe it’d be enough to knock some sense into the white girl, although her resolution for reality seemed to be malfunctioning.

Then he turned toward the one he was going to take with him, “Get moving. We have a long way to go.”

 

[_Stardust]

Tabby grabbed Liz’s hand as the thing in front of them apparently considered her words. “Go straight home, and don’t leave your house,” she whispered urgently. “Ring my mum. Tell her I love her.” Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence, as she realised the immensity of the situation. She had signed her own death sentence, that much was certain. Now she just had to make sure it was worth it.

“Start walking. Across the clearing,” the man said to her. There was no emotion in that voice, just a matter of fact-ness that he would be obeyed. Liz just looked confused, staring between Tabby and the ancient-looking man, as though waiting for one of them to break into a grin, and shout ‘Just kidding!’

“I’m serious Liz. Go!”

Liz stared up at the man, expectantly. All of this just made so little sense that the girl had simply given up, and was now waiting to wake up, or snap out of it. Whatever it would take for the world to turn back to normal.

“We’ll bring her back in a while.”
“Do you promise?” Liz asked, suddenly sounding far younger than her years.
“I promise,” Tabby said quietly.

And then the light was gone. Their eyes had adjusted to the brightness and the sudden darkness that fell was complete. Tabby struggled in the darkness to find Liz. She still had to say goodbye! Instead her hand brushed against cold, paper thin skin and she recoiled in horror, letting out a shriek. The shriek was echoed by Liz. There was a fast pattering of steps, and the sound of branches rubbing against each other. Liz must have fled.

“Get moving. We have a long way to go.”
The command came from closer to her than she expected and she jumped again. Convincing her body to move was almost impossible. Self-preservation froze her legs in place, and she shuddered desperately, trying to silence her sobs. She turned her back, and forced one foot in front of the other, moving further into the swirling ground level fog.
“I know I don’t what to know this,” she started, unable to hide the fearful stammer in her voice, “but what are you?”​

 

[TheGrind]

“A servant for something greater,” he responded cooly to her question. Damien wasn’t interested in telling her more, and she’d get no more out of him. It wasn’t in his interest to build any kind of reputation with the girl who was going to be used by his Master. Attachments didn’t often happen and when they did, they were hard to let go of... although in the end, he always acquiesced to demands.

“Start walking,” he spoke, pushing his hand against her back to urge her forward, “I’ll tell you when and where to turn.”

Their walk took hours before the castle seemed to be right in front of them, miraculously appearing out of the trees. The darkness and the thickness of the woods helped hide the construction so it seemed like it always came out of nowhere. Best of all it was so deep inside the trees that not a single punk with a can of spray paint cared to come in so far and people during the day were too busy getting on with their lives. Even the park rangers passed the place after a few close encounters although miraculously they still checked off that they had searched the area when it came time to conduct patrols. Out this far, the two, Master and servant, were on their own.

When approaching the doors, Damien opened one wide. Everything looked European in design which made everything seem even more out of place. There were no real castles here but it made one wonder what eccentric bothered to build something like this. Or maybe the owner merely brought his home with him.

Damien encouraged the girl to go inside with momentary silence, and a hand offering her free passage inside. Two reg rugs could be seen, one smaller and circular just beyond the doors and the other stretching along a long hallway which dove into rooms on either side, not neglecting the staircase.

“Wait inside,” Damien said at last, “and I’ll inform him of your arrival.”

 

[_Stardust]

From the decidedly cryptic answer, Tabby could see that there was little point in following that line of questions, at least right now. But knowledge, however slight was power, so it was in her best interests to find out about this ‘greater something’ that was merely served by the terrifying creature in front of her. Maybe she could find an opportunity later. Although right now, just thinking the word ‘later’ made Tabby want to curl up and cry, as chances were the few ‘laters’ she had remaining would all be at the very least, inconceivably terrifying.

Tabby was shocked out of her spiralling negative thoughts by a cold touch that began between her shoulder blades, and then spread, filling her body with ice. “Start walking. I’ll tell you when and where to turn.” Unable to speak, Tabby simply nodded her assent as the chill slowly receded.

If she had thought that her earlier foray into the woods had been bad, this was simply incomparable. The dark was much more complete, and the knotted trees grew closer together, snaring her hair and clothes with every step, and covering any bare skin in shallow scratches. And yet, when the gothic castle loomed above her, almost out of nowhere, she would have preferred to dive straight back into the woods. She’d never seen anything like this outside of a horror movie, which was hardly a comforting thought.

Tabby took in the open door and the universal gesture for ‘after you’, and took another step further into the nightmare. She looked around the hall, noting the foreign appearance, and the forbidding atmosphere it gave off. “Wait inside, and I’ll inform him of your arrival.”

The door swung shut, sealing itself with a loud bang that sent Tabby skittering away reflexively. The hall was shadowy, but Tabby couldn’t see anybody watching her, when she looked around, nor any cameras in the place. She really had been left alone, if only for a moment. She considered trying the door, but even if it had been left unlocked, it was so large that there was almost certainly no way she could open it unaided, so that escape route was out. Instead, she took off down the long hallway, deciding to pick a room and hide inside. A childish delaying tactic, but in her terrified state, it was the best that she could come up with.​

 

[TheGrind]

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Damien disappeared down the hall to fetch his Master. He had enough confidence in the building that she wouldn’t escape; it was virtually impossible as far as he was concerned. There was no way she was going to escape the woods. But Damien wasn’t to return. After he informed about the girl, he hid himself away while Armand left the small study to greet his new toy; his new fuck doll, his new blood trough.

The girl wasn’t where Damien had left her but this didn’t spoil Armand’s fun. A broad grin permitted a pair of fangs to sneak out from just underneath his lip. The girl had a distinct smell about her; perfume? the scent of a woman? or could it have been something as simple and small as life... Not that it mattered for the trail was there as obvious as a game trail to a hound dog. Armand stalked down the hall, tracing the steps the girl had fled. The strength of her trail grew stronger the more ground he covered, the chase, even if she had stalled herself away in a random room, was something he hadn’t had in a while. The last girl never ran much; she just screamed even though he told her it’d be no use. Eventually he had to drain her dry.

However, now he had the new girl stashed away behind a door that led into one of his small libraries littered throughout the place. He had so many rooms yet nothing to fill them with. Armand turned the knob, knowing that without the key, which Damien had, it couldn’t be locked. When he felt the click of the knob in his hand, he threw the door open wide, spilling the torchlights from the corridor into the library. It was dark to see but it didn’t bother his eyes. Not that she needed to know if she hadn’t already therefore he decided to wait at the opening of the door.

“Come to me,” he spoke, looking into the room. “We cannot talk through the darkness like this and I know your vision is impaired by it. Come with me to the sitting room where we can talk better. I’ll have Damien bring you food and drink and you’ll know I mean you no harm.” Whether he was lying or not, she’d have to decide and while he was sure she wouldn’t trust him, he’d at least make her listen to him whether she wanted to or not.

 

[_Stardust]

The room was pitch black, and Tabby slowly groped her way across the room, away from the door, trying to head in the direction of what should be the furthest corner. Finding a place where wall met wall, the girl simply curled up fearfully on the floor, dragging a table she’d banged her leg on in front of her. It was laughable really. The only difference between her and a small child playing hide and seek was that she knew shutting her eyes really really tight wouldn’t keep her hidden and safe. No matter how much she wished otherwise.

She had a few minutes, at the most, before she was found. She really needed to try and think; to come up with some kind of plan, but the sheer concentrated panic that was running through her body wouldn’t allow it. She was trapped in a dark room, in a creepy castle, owned by somebody who had floating servants.

And then the room lit up. Clearly her time was up. A tall, dominating figure filled in the doorway, his features obscured by the backlight.
“Come to me,” he spoke, looking into the room. “We cannot talk through the darkness like this and I know your vision is impaired by it. Come with me to the sitting room where we can talk better. I’ll have Damien bring you food and drink and you’ll know I mean you no harm.”

Tabby laughed; a slightly hysterical shriek that she quickly smothered, before standing up. He seemed completely unfazed by her bid for an extension on her freedom, and the matter-of-fact tone of his words swayed her further. She didn’t believe them, of course, but she did believe that there was no way for her to exit this room without accompanying him, and at least he had made an offer of an explanation.
Still squinting slightly she returned to the doorway and stood before the man, refusing to look up and meet his eyes.
​

 

[TheGrind]

Her laughter was a challenge. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

As she came toward the doorway, Armand stood aside so she could fall into the light and leave the room. “Any pain you suffer will be administered either by myself or Damien but it will be pain you’ve earned. You will not suffer without reason. This new trust will take time but I’ll ask you to reflect for the moment. Have you been harmed thus far?”

Armand knew Damien wouldn’t have harmed the girl. Training had taken a long time but time was all anyone needed to learn and understand their new roles. Damien seemed easy and this girl seemed as though she’d be the same; fighting had become so passée.

“Begin down the hall and turn left after we arrive in the room from which you fled,” he spoke, unwilling to walk in front of the girl until he could trust her. This would take even more time and more often than not, the girls would overstay their welcome before he’d find that trust.

“Damien will soon have food on the table in the dining room for you,” he instructed. “Until then, we’re on our own. I think its only proper I get to know my new girl.” Afterward he closed the door to the room she had meekly barricaded herself inside. Now that a new girl was living in the place, doors would have to be locked again just to make it easier for him to find her. There was more to say but he had no desire to carry out his conversation while walking down the hall.

 

[_Stardust]

“Enjoying myself?” Tabby echoed. “Oh you have no idea. The whole night’s been a laugh a minute.” ‘Tabby, just shut up already,’ she mentally rebuked herself. While most scared people’s reactions were limited to a ‘fight or flight’ decision, Tabby seemed wired to have another option. However, ‘stand around and be increasingly sarcastic’ was only likely to get her into even more trouble. She started to apologise, but he merely spoke over her, stepping to the side to let her pass.

Now she could see him clearly, she was surprised. After the grotesqueness of the servant, she had simply been expecting more of the same, but this man was attractive, noticeably so. Not that his looks stopped him from apparently demanding abductions to be carried out in his name. Or from wanting to cause her ‘pain’, a notion that instantly snapped her attention back to his words.

“Any pain you suffer will be administered either by myself or Damien but it will be pain you’ve earned. You will not suffer without reason. This new trust will take time but I’ll ask you to reflect for the moment. Have you been harmed thus far?”

“Physically, no. Your butler hasn’t done anything to me. Mentally however, I’d hardly say I was in a good place right now,” she countered.

After giving her directions to the living room, he followed her at a measured pace, just close enough to invade her personal space ever so slightly.
“Damien will soon have food on the table in the dining room for you,” he instructed. “Until then, we’re on our own. I think it’s only proper I get to know my new girl.”

She bit her lip against the instant retort she wanted to make and kept walking. As soon as they were through the door, Tabby took the opportunity to step away from the man, barely glancing around the large, decadently furnitured room. She noted that there was only one exit, which he was currently in front of, that there nothing she could easily use as a weapon and simply ignored the rest.
“What do you mean ‘your new girl’?” she demanded, angrily. “And who are you? What do you want?”

 

[TheGrind]

“Mental torment means nothing. Most people don’t even use their brains yet they become distraught once it begins to be scraped from their skull,” Armand welcomed her to the dining area. A long table had food at the far end along with a pair of chairs; one was at the head of the table which was his noted by just how unique it appeared, no doubt etched by now-deceased artisans.

“Have no fears, you’ll be safe provided you listen. That’s all I’ve asked of anyone. Damien has thus far and he’s been alive for a long time. Although I’m sure in one or two hundred years you’ll look much better than he does, but then again, you won’t change at all. You’ll always remain young and beautiful.”

By the time Armand had finished talking, they were at the other end of the table. Offering a chair to the girl he then took his at the head. Strangely a plate was lacking at his spot but he was saving himself for something later. “Eat as you like,” he instructed. “As for what I am, that’s of no importance to you now. Wouldn’t it be more to your liking to know what I had planned for you? Why I had Damien scouring the woods to search for someone, even if she wasn’t exactly what I wanted?”

Armand leaned his back into the chair as he watched the girl, “You want to know what I mean by my new girl. I mean it exactly as I said it. You’re my new girl until you become a girl I tire of or a girl whose vibrant energy has been depleted. More will be explained later but such things aren’t important for you to know. Until then, eat. And let me know your name.”

 

[_Stardust]

Tabby shuddered at the man’s unpleasant imagery as he lead her through the living room, and into yet another large room, this one predominantly taken up by a grandiose table. He just kept talking, in a smooth, calming voice, and there was so much to take in that Tabby had already accepted the offered seat before her mind began raising objections.

“Did you just say two hundred years?” she said, sounding horrified. Then, changing tack, she took a deep breath, steadying herself. “Alright. What do you have planned for me? And what happens to me, when your plans are through, and you ‘tire of me’, as you put it.” She sat up straighter in the chair, trying to convince herself, and so the man, by proxy, that she wasn’t afraid. “My name is Tabby. Well Tabitha, but I don’t like that. And you?”

She managed to maintain eye contact with the man for almost a few seconds, before she dropped her gaze back down to the food on the table. She had no desire to eat, but didn’t want to undermine her act by seeming nervous. She selected a bread roll and placed it on the plate in front of her.
​

 

[TheGrind]

“There’s no need to worry about my name yet,” he spoke as he watched her take the roll. He didn’t imagine she was hungry but it wouldn’t have been right to not offer anything. The first step was in getting her to trust him as it’d make things easier but if not, things could be gotten in other ways.

“As for what happens with you when I’m through, that depends. It depends on how you act, how you treat myself and Damien, how submissive or rebellious you choose to be. Until we come to that day, we’re not going to know anything for certain. I’m sure you understand,” he waved off the conversation with a hand as though it were a fly.

“When you’re through here, I’ll have Damien show you to your room. Afterwards, I want you to stay up all through the night with me. While you’re with me you’ll rest when the sun rises and wake when it sets. It’s a mere issue of convenience. And since it doesn’t look like you’re hungry yet, he can show you to your room now.”

After that, Armand nodded his head toward the door he and Tabby had come through where Damien had silently followed. The ever-loyal servant was there, ready to wait on Armand’s new girl.

 

[_Stardust]

Tabby bit back a groan of frustration at the man’s sheer refusal to answer a straight question. She guessed that expressing her growing irritation, an emotion that even she realised was completely at odds with her current situation, would hardly endear her to her anonymous captor.

The thought of a reprieve from his company, albeit a temporary one, was comforting. Even the fact that it meant returning to the floating horror who had dragged her into this nightmare was bearable. She wondered whether the nocturnal patterns it seemed she was expected to keep was an attempt to keep her off balance and more manageable; she was already weary, and the fear and adrenaline that kept her alert was beginning to fade.
“And since it doesn’t look like you’re hungry yet, he can show you to your room now.”

She glanced down at the remains of the roll. She’d absently torn it into pieces and had littered the plate with it, yet she didn’t think she’d eaten any. She pushed the plate away and stood, turning to find Damien already stood at the table, apparently waiting for her. Tabby knew manners demanded she excuse herself, but since the man had already dismissed her, she didn’t know what was required.

Eventually she chose to simply leave in silence, shadowing Damien up the flight of main stairs, and then up another smaller staircase, and then further into the castle. In a matter of minutes Damien opened a door and gestured for Tabby to enter. The room was large, and although windowless, oddly lighter than any of the rooms she had seen thus far. A four poster bed, sheltered by a wispy canopy stood in the centre of the room with an ornate wooden dresser at its foot. The rest of the furniture stood against the wall, leaving a lot of floor bare. Tabby turned back to Damien. “Does this room belong to whatever girl he had here before me? What did he do to her?”

 

[TheGrind]

Damien led Tabby up to her room in silence. It was made for young women who happened to be brought in from the congested trees just outside. Upon opening the door and letting Tabby look around, Damien remained silent. Just as he was about to turn on his heel to leave the room and lock the door, Damien caught her first words. It made him stop if only because he felt compelled to answer. It was ordered that he entertain the girl, try to make her feel more comfortable so she wouldn’t act out like frightened vermin.

“There were others before you,” he admitted. There was never any harm in letting the girls know the truth. They’d always find out sooner or later whether by guessing or by seeing it first hand. “And this was all their room. They come one by one and when he tires of the girl, a new one follows. It’s a habit that’s gone on for as long as I can remember and it will remain for as long as I serve.

“The girl was let go unharmed. Her body was used for sexual purposes and her blood served to supply him his midnight feeding. Its safer, he says, to feed off the girls in his own home rather than stalk the streets. Times have changed and it isn’t as easy to hide which is why he turned me so long ago.

“If you happen to like it here, he can turn you as well, provided he approves of you. It’s a long commitment and once you make it, there is no turning back. But I’ll let you rest for two hours. You’ll come down when that time is up and spend the rest of the night with him. The room has been combed since the departure of the last girl so save your time and get some rest. You’ll find out you’re tired if you lie down and forget about the night’s events. I’ll return for you when your time is up.”

After that, Damien backed out of the doorway, shutting the door. The clicking of two locks sounded from Damien’s side even though a lock wasn’t visible from her side. The room may have been scoured since the last girl but there was no need to take chances. One never knew what strangers stalked the woods.

 

[_Stardust]

Tabby listened silently to Damien as he explained in the plainest of words what had happened to the long line of girls who had been brought to this castle before her, and what would now be done with her. He finished talking and left the room. Tabby followed him to the door, and tried turning the large handle, but unsurprisingly the door didn’t open. Listlessly, she returned to the centre of the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

Her reaction was confusing, even to herself. As Damien had told her she was to be raped and then drained of blood on a nightly basis by the monster downstairs until he tired of her, she should have been ranting, raving and fighting with her last breath to get free, but she hadn’t. The panic, and fear and horror that should have fed such a fire within her had simply fled; but she wasn’t left with acceptance, not by any means. She simply felt empty and emotionless. It was as though she had somehow locked her mind away in a box where nothing could touch it, not even herself.

She looked around the room with uninterested eyes. She’d been warned to spend her few hours alone to rest, rather than seek some hidden object with which to defend herself, and for now she would listen. She removed her shoes, caked in the mud and fallen leaves of the woods through which she had trekked so recently, and swung her feet up onto the bed. Laying back she stared up into the canopy for a mere moment, before the nothingness that had already seeped into her mind claimed her.

 

[_Stardust]

.....

 

[_Stardust]

.....

 

[TheGrind]

The time had passed seamlessly as Damien had nothing to do aside from preparing Tabby’s clothes for the evening. She couldn’t possibly be allowed to wear the clothes she was taken in. Those were far too drab for a place such as this, for a taste as elite as Armand’s was. But the girl was not going to be lost in elegance nor would the clothes permit her to ignore her purpose in the castle.

Damien knocked lightly upon the door before unlocking it and letting himself inside. Shutting the heavy door behind him he confidently came further into the room. She couldn’t escape before. He trusted in her inability. His eyes set on the girl trying to see if she had woken but, deciding she could sleep a little longer, permitted her eyes to rest while he laid her clothes over the foot of the bed. It was a long, elegant green dress but if one were committed to train his eye, could see through the fabric. However, to keep those eyes from seeing what she wanted to hide most were her bra and panties. These were also matching lacy green, although cried for more fabric. It hid her and that was well enough.

Soon Damien stood at her bedside, bending low next to her as he whispered into her ear, “It is time to wake. Your clothes lie at the end of the bed and I’ll leave you to change. When you’re ready, come down the stairs and I’ll be waiting for you. I do not know what he wishes of you first tonight whether it be your blood or body. When I am able on these nights, I will inform you. He is waiting.”

With that, Damien left her side. The door shut but didn’t lock, proving that Damien wouldn’t be too far away. At the bottom of the staircase he looked up, waiting for her descent so he could take her where she needed to be.

 

[_Stardust]

Tabby’s eyes snapped open as the first whispered breath touched her ear. She stared at Damien for a moment before sitting up as he continued to inform her of the dinner and a rape that had been planned for the night. Not that she was truly able to focus on his words. Her thoughts were almost solely concentrated on the dream she had just escaped; a jumble of blood and fire and noises and people. The most striking of them all had Liz. She had been bleeding, crying desperately and blaming Tabby for something that she just couldn’t understand.

“And now from one nightmare to the next,” Tabby said, getting off the bed. She studied the clothing that had been left for her and at first was shocked to see the beautiful dress, made almost modest with its length and decent neckline. Upon picking it up, however, she instantly saw the intentional flaw in its design. It had no lining, and was certainly not thick enough alone to do much more than flaunt everything its wearer had to offer.
Underneath were smaller, frilly bits of lace that on closer inspection turned out to be underwear; the kind that should be worn by a girl looking to impress her boyfriend, not a girl about to become the meal of some undead monster. Tabby drew a shuddery breath, and tried to will herself back into the apathetic shell that had been conjured earlier.

‘Just don’t think about it,’ she told herself as she pulled the clothing on. ‘Just stay in here, where it’s safe and he can’t touch you. We’ll just give him your body for tonight.’

She looked down at herself critically. The dress wasn't as revealing as it might have been, thank goodness. Her skin merged with the darker patterns on the dress creating shadowed effects on her body. Clearly, the man’s tastes ran to taller girls, since the dress pooled quite spectacularly at her feet, which were bare, since no shoes had been provided. The floor was bare stone, and cold under her feet, but Tabby used that as she left the room and started walking down the stairs. With each step she concentrated on distancing herself from the cold under her feet, hoping she’d be able to push her mind away from the horrors that would be inflicted on her body tonight in the same way.

 

[TheGrind]

Damien stood at the base of the stairs, his eyes on Tabby until she reached the last stair. It’d be his fault if she took a tumble, having some unforseen accident. But she ended up fine spoke proudly as he guided her back toward the room he’d shown her hours before, “He’ll be happy to see that you’re well taken care of and that you haven’t ripped your clothes to shreds. Everything he will provide you will come at incredible cost to his wealth. I tell you this to warn you that he can be a volatile man if crossed. If you do as he says for as long as he says it, you will be released unharmed, as I’m sure you’ve heard of the stories from others in your town.”

Once there, he ended his short speech, instead opting for silence as the table showcased itself. It had been filled with food, a meal that would satisfy even Henry VIII’s appetite. Damien pulled a chair out for Tabby near the far end. Under a whisper he instructed, “He’ll come soon. Wait to eat until he arrives.”

A number of minutes passed before Armand showed himself under the frame of the door. He was quiet as he watched her, pleased with how she looked. It wasn’t like some of the others, those others who rebelled at the thought of him invading their neck, invading their body. Perhaps she would suit him well.

Armand moved from the door and into the room. As he walked behind her he spoke, “If you look like this all the time, we may have to do this every night.” But that was already a foregone conclusion. A man had to feast; one also had to fuck. He sat down at the end of the table, his eyes on the girl. "Don't wait for me. I'll have you later tonight."

 

[_Stardust]

Tabby followed Damien back through the house, and was only partially listening when he praised her for not ripping the clothing. She shrugged mentally. Ripping them would have been a pretty pointless gesture, the clothes barely covered her as it was.

“I tell you this to warn you that he can be a volatile man if crossed. If you do as he says for as long as he says it, you will be released unharmed, as I’m sure you’ve heard of the stories from others in your town.”

She couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of ending up like those wild eyed girls, the ones who occasionally came back. They had been broken, that was clear to everyone in town, but nobody knew by what and the girls all refused to say. Or, she contemplated, maybe they had tried, but nobody had ever believed that they had been used by a vampire, drained of their very souls by him, and the shells returned.

She sat at the proffered seat, and nodded at Damien’s suggestion to wait before eating any of the food in front of her. The mountain of food piled on the table was impressive. Meat from every animal, bread, fresh fruits and vegetables; it was a veritable feast, but Tabby’s main attention was spent on trying to remain alert and aware so that his entrance in the room didn’t startle her. It was an attempt made in vain though, as his quiet words that came from behind her drew an involuntary gasp. She glared at him as he made his way to the other side and sat.

"Don't wait for me. I'll have you later tonight."

The smug certainty in his voice infuriated her, and Tabby's decision to simply stay meek, quiet and shut her mind off from her body’s torment was instantly forgotten. “You presumptuous rapist bastard!” She shouted. “I don’t care what you are, how ancient you may be, or how many other girls you’ve decided to kidnap and destroy, I am not your girl,” she put a sneering inflection on the words, “and I will not be treated like some common piece of property.”

The words had spilt from her in a single angry outburst, but now that they had been said, she was terrified. She shoved the chair away from the table and turned to flee the room.

 

[TheGrind]

Armand didn’t stand to stop her. She’d already proven she couldn’t do anything but lock herself in a random room and with Damien in the halls, getting too far wasn’t a possibility. It’d be like watching a headless chicken running around while getting nowhere at all until it collapsed into a heap of drained energy and a pool of its own blood.

“I haven’t touched you yet,” he reminded her as he relaxed in his chair. “I will, but I haven’t yet. Don’t let your fear consume you,” he continued as he began to stand from this chair. He walked toward her, standing behind her. He set his hands upon her shoulders, rubbing them gently. Lowering his face near her ear he continued to speak with softer tones, “Believe me, Tabby. You are not some common piece of property. You’re something to be taken care of, to be looked out for, to be used for the reason she was made. For me. You were made for me.”

Then he backed away, removing his hands from her as he returned to his seat. “If you want to run, you can, if it’ll make you feel better. But everything will be easier for you if you make it easier for me. Its our trade. You’ll have a nice stay in a large place. But if you want to fight, you may end up like those other girls they found. Wide eyed and lost, their minds damaged beyond repair. It is never something that’s intended. I’ve treated them all well until they chose to offend my generosity. So sit, and eat. Try to enjoy your time here. If you let yourself, you just might.”

 

[_Stardust]

She expected to feel hands upon her at once, dragging her back to the table – or worse, but she made it to the door unhindered. A hasty glance over her shoulder told her why. He was sat lounging in his chair, a faint smile playing on his lips like some cat who’d got the bloody cream. She opened her mouth to start another tirade, but he spoke over her calmly.

“I haven’t touched you yet. I will, but I haven’t yet. Don’t let your fear consume you.” She started slightly as he touched her; she hadn’t even heard him move. “Believe me, Tabby. You are not some common piece of property.” His voice had softened, and had a relaxing, soothing quality to it and she leant back against him with a sigh. He continued. “You’re something to be taken care of, to be looked out for, to be used for the reason she was made. For me. You were made for me.”

She stiffened at his last words, and glaring, tried to throw his hands off. The fingers stopped their soft faux massage, and tightened on her shoulders for a brief painful moment, then were gone, and he was back in his seat.

She looked at the table, where he sat, obviously expecting her return, then back to the door, which led only to a brief estimate of freedom, and then to certain punishment. But, if she ran, at least she would know that she’d tried. She hadn’t just given herself at the first hurdle. And that had to count for something, right?

“You call it a trade,” she said, speaking quietly. “But I never asked for this. I never asked for ‘a stay in a large place’. You have big rooms, what do I care? You clearly have no heart or humanity, if you can’t understand why I’m terrified. I don’t want this! Can’t you understand that? Can’t you just let me go home!” Tears ran down her face, and she longed to simply burst into the full hearted sobs of a child.