11 #2
My stomach takes control over my mind, and I stand up.
In the next moment, I’m already sitting next to the tray.
Everything is labeled with the same elegant handwriting.
Overripe apples and bananas line the blue tray.
Seeds are provided in small rusty containers.
On top of the fruit are plants and roots.
I recognize lavender, mint, cloves, and lemongrass, but that’s only the half of it.
There’s a golden liquid inside a bronze cup, labeled as nectar, and beside it are small jugs of hot and cold water.
I pour the contents of the Verbascum into the latter.
There’s another mixture with a label saying ‘ambrosia’.
It seems to be a mix of small oranges and cherries, topped with whipped cream, but I also spot some things in it that may be gummy bears or colored cereal balls.
Another small message awaits by the tray.
I tried to choose food you would eat, but if you want meat too, just let me know. D
I gulp audibly. I don’t want to imagine what kind of meat he’s referring to. I don’t want to know what they do with the children. I don’t want to be here. I want to go home.
But at home, only restraints would be waiting for me.
They would tie me up like a lunatic. Darya promised that I will no longer need my medication if I defeat a monster.
But Kripot gave me weapons that I couldn’t even lift, let alone use properly.
He tried me on the course with spears, and I got injured with every minor movement.
My tongue burns and I ache for a pill. I need my medication. I can’t live without it. I don’t want to live without it.
I start nibbling on the seeds.
I can’t do this. Without the pills, I can’t.
I down the Verbascum drink. The cup shakes in my hand. My heart gets louder, as if it may explode with every beat in my chest. I grab a handful of seeds.
I can’t do this.
Half of them fall from my hand, scattering with a faint clatter on the swampy floor. I take a deep breath, but it feels like my throat is narrowing. My field of vision is once again obscured by black smoke.
I down the contents of the cups, one after another.
I eat too quickly – I can’t stop. The fog absorbs the space around me, and I pant.
I can barely breathe. I get on all fours and crawl to the center of the tray.
I drink the nectar, and some of it spills down my neck.
I wipe it with my hand, making my palm sticky. It smells honey-sweet.
With my other hand, I’m already shoveling almonds into my mouth. Half of them fall beside me.
I can’t do this. Without the medication, I can’t do this.
“I’m weak, weak, weak…” I whisper to myself.
I’m alone.
I need to eat more. At least the food won’t leave me.
I try some mint leaves. My vision is already blurry. It doesn’t taste like it does back home. My stomach fills up. The feeling warms me, then everything becomes too hot, and I lurch forward.
Just leave me finally.
I vomit next to my bed.
Another wave of nausea comes. I splatter the floor, hitting one of the yellow gleaming eyes in the process. The creature gazes unwaveringly. I have a feeling that it’s not the only one witnessing my shame.
I bury my face in my hands. I finally feel better. When the room stops spinning, I open my eyes and get up. I clean myself and the room. When everything is tidy, I wash up and drink enough water to get rid of the unpleasant taste of vomit.
I go to the wardrobe and stare sharply at the eyes. They close, and I dress in a soft, white nightgown.
A gentle breeze touches my face, and I feel cold suddenly. The air shouldn’t move here…
My palms begin to sweat as I slowly turn around.
I heard something.
Tap.
My heart jumps into my throat, and I press against my nightgown.
I take a step back towards the wardrobe, assessing the room.
The eyes haven’t opened yet. The purplish-red lights provide dim illumination that doesn’t reach the space to the left of the bookshelf.
I peer into it, my mouth drying up. The dark area is blurry, hiding the source of the sound from me.
I can’t see anything. My chest pounds, my breath hitches.
Tap.
I clench my fists and stumble backwards into the wardrobe. Fear spreads in my stomach. I can’t blink. From the black corner, a patient, deep growling draws my panic to the surface.
No… Please, don’t…
The dark space is stirring as if the mist is coming to life, and a massive claw enters the red light.
My airflow stops, my heart skips a beat.
The gray claw extends across the swampy floor, its sharp scraping sending goosebumps up my back.
The red lights then reveal a black hand, followed by the arm attached to it.
I look into the black void. Two red dots glow sharply. They become larger.
A head joins the red eyes.
No…
The fog slowly reveals a demon, its growl almost forcing me to collapse. I freeze. I don’t know what to do. I have no weapon.
The demon snarls, its sharp teeth glowing in the darkness.
It takes a deep breath, inhaling my scent.
Then it lunges at me.
It screams like a beast, neither human nor animal, but like a hyena crossed with a zombie.
I scream along with it, and in that moment, the eyes open.
The yellow light floods the room, and the monster’s shape is more visible, three times my size.
There’s nowhere to escape, and I fall onto the bed, hoping the bars will break and put a barrier between me and the monster, but it grabs my ankle and pulls me towards it.
The pain penetrates all the way up to my thigh as if my leg is being torn out of its socket, and I scream.
I fall off the bed, my back hitting the ground.
The monster buries me under itself, and I feel its spicy breath, like nocturnal death.
Panic explodes in my chest, and I thrash and kick until the monster’s claws shred my clothes.
Then everything happens as quickly as it started.
The monster is suddenly dragged off me. His loud scream shakes my bones.
The demon’s head detaches, and I look up in shock.
Darya holds the dead demon’s body, black blood dripping from its claws onto the swampy ground.
I’m trembling from shock and my eyes are watery. Only now am I starting to realize what just happened.
This creature came into my room despite Darya showing what he does to those who reach me. And Darya… He arrived the moment before I was about to be killed.
I’m completely frozen; I can’t move. Darya slowly turns his head towards me.
His gray eyes are now completely black, the strip tattoos from the inner corners even sharper.
His chest rises, then falls. He’s facing me, but his dark gaze seems focused on somewhere far away.
The hair on my nape stands up, but… I dare not move.
I lie bare-chested before the Demon King.
I should run. Cover myself with a blanket, but I don’t care. I can’t…
Remaining on my back, I continue looking up at the Demon King.
Darya throws away the dead demon’s body. The bones clatter as it hits the ground. The hairs on my bare shoulder stand up.
Darya steps beside me. Slowly, he bends down, causing all my muscles to tense.
Holding my breath, I watch as he gently places his hand next to my head, his knees on either side of my thighs.
I sense his fiery scent on me. Every fiber of my being screams for me to escape, but my limbs refuse to move.
I lose myself in the black gaze that holds mine, as if I have no other choice.
I don’t want to look anywhere else.
Darya’s eyes move down from my face, and at the sight of my uncovered chest, his own rises sharply, prompting a warm wave to scorch my thighs.
His cold hand slowly travels up my arm, and I tremble under his touch.
My breath quickens as he assesses the damage to my body.
He won’t find any. He saved me before I could get hurt.
The demon takes hold of one of my wrists, examining a newly formed scratch. So, I did hurt myself after all, but I don’t remember when. Darya runs his thumb over the scratch, and I hiss. He turns his head towards me, then gently places my hand back on the ground. I’ve never seen him like this.
His gaze is black, and his chest is rising slowly and heavily, as if he has to command himself to breathe. He saved me… Darya saved me from a demon who almost killed me. The experience is so fresh that a tear silently rolls down my face.
Darya looks at it before brushing it away with a cold finger.
His gaze begins to clear, and now I can see where he’s looking.
His hand pauses for a moment near my face, and warmth sparks on my skin at his touch.
His fingers slowly move downward. My pulse quickens as he reaches the upper part of my chest. His fingers spread, and he delicately drags his claws down.
His eyes follow the movement, and when he reaches my exposed breast, I shudder, pressing the back of my head into the ground.
His eyes briefly return to my face, studying, then they follow his hand again.
I’m terrified; fear shakes my spine, but I let it happen, let Darya explore my body.
His hand continues down to my bare stomach, and I feel relief and regret at the same time at him not staying at my breast. The man gazes at my bellybutton, then leans closer to it.
My body sounds an alarm. Life moves into my muscles, and in a panic, I try to pull myself out from under him, but he firmly presses down on my hips.
“Shhh,” he whispers, and even in this small sound, there’s so much power that I immediately stop. “Don’t move. I won’t hurt you, just… don’t move.”
More emotions run through my head than I want to admit. Relief again, then disappointment, shame.
Darya’s hand moves from my stomach to my waist, and his mouth reaches the area below it. I tense up, and a moan escapes me.
“Tell me, Lotte,” he whispers from beneath my navel, and if I weren’t lying down, I would probably collapse from his touch. “Do you want me to continue?”
I bite my lip because I’m afraid of what answer might come out of my mouth.
Darya blows tantalizingly onto my skin. He descends a few centimeters, and I have to bite back another moan. I feel his breath exactly where I require it the most. “Do you now understand why you need to be able to defend yourself?”
I lift my head to look at him. Darya whispers to that place where my underwear should be, his dark eyes scrutinizing me. My mouth goes dry. I nod slowly.
The demon returns to my stomach, and he breathes such a soft kiss onto my skin that I almost want to cry.
“That’s right, my clever little champion. There will be a day when I won’t be able to protect you.”
The hand that was holding my hip climbs higher, and I wonder where his touch is heading next, but then he takes my torn nightgown and smooths it over my breasts.
The feeling is so wild, so erotic, and yet so gentle that I feel the need to defend myself against it.
I can’t deal with it. As much as my belly burns from desire, and my body trembles at Darya’s touch, anger climbs up my spine.
Why should I be grateful just because he saved me from his own demon in a world that he brought me to?
“Get. Off. Me.” I grit my teeth, and a smile spreads across Darya’s beautiful porcelain face. He places the hand that was resting on my chest next to my shoulder and pushes himself up.
Now free, I explode from my position, shock no longer pinning me to the ground.
I defensively put my arm in front of my chest, and with sharp eyes, I look at Darya, who has already thrown the dead demon outside the door.
His hand lies on the handle, and he’s looking back at me sitting here, covering my chest and pulling my legs under me.
His face suddenly becomes so serious that a lump forms in my throat.
“What do you think, Lotte? Could you have defended yourself with your medicine?”
My mouth falls open, and I stare at Darya.
“Was this a test?!” I ask angrily, feeling my face burn. To prove that I don’t need my medicine? What a fucking asshole…
“No, Lotte. It wasn’t. The demon resisted my commands. I arrived in time. You were lucky. That’s all.”
I’m confused by Darya’s serious gaze. I start trembling again, feeling only a small flame of anger.
“You can’t be a very good king if your subjects never listen to you.”
Darya laughs softly. His gaze changes, becoming hungry and wild as he looks me up and down. I pull my arms tighter around myself.
“I didn't go further this time,” he declares so casually that I blush. “But once those beautiful, white legs of yours finally spread for me, I want to hear those sweet moans you had such a hard time holding back today.”
Before I can react, he closes the door.
I lean my head on my arm. My face is on fire with shame.
I don’t know how long I sit here, but a coldness under my skin shakes my body. I shiver.
I won’t… I won’t let Darya do this to me.
I have to defend myself. I have to learn to protect myself.
I stand up and head to the bathtub. Tomorrow, I’ll go to Kripot, and I’ll go every day until I become strong enough to defend myself against all those damn demons. I’ll fight until I can kick Darya’s ass so hard he can never do something to me that I don’t want.
Although, thinking about Darya’s gentle kiss on my belly, I have no idea what I want anymore. And whether I’ll even want to fight against him.