Robin

The blood running down Robin’s throat was warm, and when she swallowed a wave of disgust washed over her. The only thing she heard was the sound of Mae’s steady heartbeats. Even though her mind told her to stop drinking and get away from the woman, her body reacted purely on instinct. It had been a long time since she drank directly from the vein.

It tasted so good.

“Robin,” Mae said. Hearing her quiet voice was the only incentive Robin needed to step away. Mae squeezed her arm with a gentleness she didn’t deserve.

The princess conjured every ounce of power in her to fight the animalistic desires of her body. She took two steps back and then three more. Her hands dropped to her sides, and her bloody fingers grasped the tulle of her dress. What had she done? Why had it tasted good?

King Aerin remained next to Mae and stood between them. He grabbed his daughter’s hand and then Mae’s hand, and he lifted them both into the air. “For the bond between the blessed and unblessed!” As he cheered them on, the blessed visitors erupted into fanfare.

He dropped their hands and clapped as he left them in the crowd and returned to his intricately made throne.

The crowd closed back in, and the band started to play their happy tunes. Robin quickly grabbed Mae, wrapping her arm around her waist and pulled her to the side of the room.

Ben was there in an instant. “Fuck,” he growled. He narrowed his eyes at Robin and took Mae into his arms. He held her upright as best he could, but from the lulling of her eyes it was obvious she could pass out at any moment. “Get the hell away from her, bloodsucker.”

Robin wiped the blood away from her mouth, and her cheeks warmed a fraction. Drinking Mae’s blood hadn’t been on the top of her agenda for the day. If she hadn’t obeyed her father's directions, he would have done something much worse to them.

Mae hiccupped and the inner corners of her eyes were wet. “It’s fine, Ben,” she whispered. He glared at her and she shook her head. “It’s too crowded here to disobey.” She pushed Ben away and stood on her own with shaking arms. Starting toward the door, Ben and Robin followed behind her.

Ben grabbed Mae by the elbow, and turned her toward one of the small hallways. His glare was like a thousand daggers when he stared at Robin, but he didn’t shoo her away.

Robin understood why he might want to, though. She would have pushed herself away if she could, but she needed to make sure Mae was going to be alright. Mae had lost a lot of blood, and Robin didn’t know what she would do with herself if anything else bad happened to her. There were many blessed in this castle, and if any of them were thirsty enough there was nothing stopping them from attacking her.

Ben reached one of the walls where a hidden door laid behind. His eyes peeled the hall before he gave it a hard shove and stumbled inside, pulling Mae along with him. Robin ducked in and shut the entrance behind her. There were so many tunnels running through the castle that she didn’t know where one started and another ended.

As Ben trudged through the tunnels with Mae in tow, it was then that Robin realized the two of them must be much more familiar with the castle than she first believed.

“Up there, beneath the kitchens,” Mae said quietly. “I’m going to need something to eat soon. I’m never stepping foot into this castle again for another job.” She grumbled as she walked, and her muscle toned arms wrapped around her slender frame. The edges of her pretty blond hair were stained red.

“Hush, Mae,” Ben whispered. He glanced back at Robin before he looked at his companion, attempting to convey some sort of hidden message in his eyes.

Mae snorted, a deep and guttural sound. The edge of her lip turned up into a smirk. Robin hadn’t noticed Mae had one of her daggers in her hand now. The woman carefully twirled it between her bloody fingers, as if the blade was the only thing keeping her close to reality. It probably was.

They reached the small cavern underneath the kitchens. It was cold and damp, but it offered good refuge from the hectic night. Mae sank onto one of the wooden benches that had been placed there years before. “I need something to drink and some water,” she said. Ben stood firmly where he was. She groaned. “Please, Ben. Can’t you see the princess is already torturing herself enough without your judging eyes? Do you think she wanted to do that?”

He stood in front of Robin. They stood nose to nose, and Robin quickly turned her chin up. She wouldn’t let this man make her feel more guilty than she already was. She knew well enough the atrocity she committed. “If you lay one hand on her, I will not hesitate to strike you down,” he growled. “I should have already killed you.”

Robin blinked. “Maybe you should have,” she said sarcastically. There was no way she could have known the worth of his words, and she only assumed he said it out of anger. “But I will not touch Mae -- not without her permission. You know how terrible my father is. If we hadn’t obeyed him, especially with so many people watching us, he would have torn us down right there.”

“She’s right, Ben. He doesn’t care. We have bigger things to worry about than a little spilled blood.” Mae groaned as she sat up further. “We’ll get him back. I don’t know how, but we’ll do it. I’m not just going to sit here and let him do this shit.”

Ben cleared his throat as he pushed his black hair out of his eyes. “Mae, there are other jobs to attend to.”

Mae whipped her head so quickly that Robin thought she might hurt herself further. Forcing herself up, Mae pushed the tip of her dagger against Ben’s chest. “I’m done being concerned about the other job. Why the hell would I finish it anymore?”

Ben rolled his eyes. “There’s more reason than ever to finish it.” He sighed. “I’ll go get some food.” He didn’t wait for Mae to say anything else as he walked down the cavernous hall and left her and Robin alone in the cave.

Robin started tearing parts of her skirt off and bunched them into small rags. She walked carefully toward Mae, hoping she wouldn’t frighten her, though she doubted there was any way she could frighten the spy. “Let me help you get cleaned up,” she said.

Mae nodded, and she sat on the edge of the bench. She tilted her chin up as Robin carefully started dabbing the blood away. She smirked, and her blue eyes met Robin’s red. “Did I at least taste good?”

“Stop that,” Robin whispered as she finished wiping the blood away. She tossed the soiled rag to the ground. Of course Mae tasted good, but she would never say that. Drinking from her had sparked electricity in her veins that had long been dormant. “I promise I will do everything in my power to get rid of my father. He can’t do this. I won’t let him.”

Mae chuckled and leaned back against the rock wall. She twisted and flipped the small dagger in her hands. “I had a feeling you would say something like that. But are you ready for what would come after your father?”

Would she be ready to ascend the throne or whatever was going to happen when he father was disposed of? Was she ready to kill him or inprison him? “I have to be,” Robin said. “I can’t just sit here and listen to him put a curfew on our friends. I can’t just let him use you as some sort of entertainment! Your blood on his lips, on my lips, god I feel so awful. I should have stopped him right there.”

Mae reached out and grabbed Robin’s hand. She laced her fingers with hers, and her thumb slowly caressed her palm. “Robin, please don’t worry. We’ll figure this out. I know we don’t trust each other, but I think we can reach a mutual agreement that we can’t let your father keep doing this. There are people willing to step up, I know it.”

Their hands fit together so well. Robin couldn’t help but notice the softness of her hand, or the gentleness of her thumb as she consoled her. Mae sniffled and wiped away a tear before it fell down her cheek. She’d been violated in a way that Robin could never begin to imagine.

Without thinking, Robin reached out and wrapped her free arm around Mae’s shoulders. She pulled the woman toward her, and they both went silent. Mae’s grip on her hand grew tighter as she breathed heavily.

“It’s okay to cry,” Robin said.

And she did. Mae’s shoulders shook as she quietly sobbed and buried her head against Robin’s shoulder. Robin held her tight against her, her hand softly caressing her arm. The corners of the princess’ eyes started to become wet and red tears formed at the corner of her eyes, and she pressed her forehead against the top of Mae’s head as she tightly shut her eyes.

They held onto each other, and Robin’s arm stayed firmly around Mae’s shoulders. Mae still gripped Robin’s hand so hard that her knuckles were turning white.

“I will kill him myself if I have to.” Robin meant it as she said it, too. She would do whatever necessary to make sure no one would ever feel this sort of pain again because of her father. If she had to drive a sword straight through his heart she would do it.