Ciaran's POV:
Screams pull my from my deep sleep, making shivers run up my spine. I get out of bed and pull on my robe, running toward the sound. It may be foolish to run toward screams, but I know my guards will protect me.
That mental statement is disproven in seconds.
As I'm on my way to find where the screams are coming from, I pass several guards with knives sticking out of their throats. My guards are some of the best, so seeing them dead on the floor terrifies me.
I am the prince of Vayl, what other kingdoms and subjects know to be "The Dark Kingdom." We don't quarrel with other kingdoms, we don't have any enemies... why would anyone attack us?!
When I reach the room where the screams are pouring from, my heart pounds. It is my mother and father, the king and queen's, room.
I shove the door open and find a man and woman standing over my mother, laughing as the man is clutching...
Oh, gods.
I vomit, unable to control my horror and disgust.
That murderer is holding my father's severed head, almost as if it is some toy.
"Who is this?" the evil woman asks, turning and seeing me. She has an unfamiliar accent, one that does not match a surrounding village or the nearest neighboring kingdom.
The man turns, cackling when he sees me, still holding my father's head. He drops the body part to the ground, stalking toward me like an animal approaching its prey.
"I hear rumor that Vayl has prince," the man says in my language, though it is broken wording and it is clear he has not lived here long. "You are prince?"
I back away from him, wishing one of my soldiers would show up and help me, but no one comes to protect me.
"Yes," I whisper, backing away even further, thinking of where I can run.
I don't want to abandon my kingdom, but I cannot stay here and be their next victim. However, as I try to back up, I feel myself running into a massive body, and it is not one of my guards. The man behind me grabs the back of my neck and I can tell it is a warning not to move or he will squeeze the life out of me.
"Can't have prince running away," the man who was holding my father's head says, walking over to me and running his fingers through my hair. "Though, we can offer him chance to work with us."
The woman hums, walking over to her, well, I am assuming it is her husband, and hands him a knife. "If he proves himself..." she trails off and says something in her native language making her husband's eyes light up.
He takes the knife, still slick with my father's blood, and places it in my hand. "You kill queen, and we let you stay prince."
My mother is still in bed, and I can tell she is in shock. She does seem to be processing, most likely the after effects of seeing my father, the love of her life, murdered in front of her.
"I..." I shake my head, tears in my eyes. "No."
The man and woman speak to each other, seeming to debate what to do with me.
Chances are, these are my last moments alive.
They turn to my mother, and the woman walks over, grabbing her arm and dragging her out of where she was sitting.
"Kill queen," the man commands me again. "Or you die."
I shake my head, trying to move away, but the hand on the back of my neck squeezes tighter. The knife in my hand makes me feel anxious, as it was the object that killed my mother, so I let it fall, the knife clattering on the floor.
The lady grins and grabs the knife, asking the man something in their language that I cannot understand.
He nods, and before I can comprehend what is happening, she turns around and stabs my mother in the gut, making me scream.
"Ah, we gave you chance to kill," the man says, petting my hair like I'm a dog. "But you don't want to."
"That's my mother!" I cry, trying to get to her, but the person holding me does not let go. "Save her!"
The man shakes his head. "I am Vladimir, new king," he says, grabbing my father's crown and placing it on his head. "This is queen Daliah," he says, nodding to his wife who skips over the my mother's bedside table and grabs her tiara. "We own kingdom now."
"Can we kill prince?" Daliah asks, using my mother's white robes to clean her knife.
Vladimir peers at me, then to the guard holding me. "Prince is weak," he says, coming up to me and grabbing my chin. "We make example of him. Anyone who supports prince will become slave."
Daliah squeals in a happy way, looking behind me at the man holding me and begins to speak to him in a rapid fashion in the language that I don't understand.
Why didn't I pay attention in my language classes?
The man chuckles and I feel him nod. "Thank you, queen," he says, dragging me away. "I send more guards for safety. Many are in village."
My heart drops.
They already sent people to the village? How long have they been planning this attack and why couldn't my guards fight back?
They were very well trained! We may have not been in a war in many years, but they still trained daily and were supposed to be ready for anything!
"Good, we make public speech tomorrow. Make example of prince," Daliah says, and my blood runs cold.
"Are you going to kill me?" I ask, and Vladimir shakes his head.
The smile on his face does not calm me.
"We make example of you. Anyone who does not follow us will be slave," he says, grinning evilly as he repeats what he said earlier.
The man who's been holding me still the whole time speaks to the pair in his language and drags me away from the room where the bodies of my parents lay.
"Where does prince sleep?" he asks, and I guide him down the hall to my room, because I'm scared that he'll kill me if I don't obey.
Or do something worse.
Once I guide him to the room, he makes me sit down on the bed and pulls out a shiny jewel attached to a curved needle. He opens my robe, looking up and down my nude body, but I'm too scared to move.
"What is that?" I ask him, staring at the needle, but he does not respond to me.
"Do not move," he orders, before jamming the curved needle through my belly button, turning it so the jewel is shining and covering my bellybutton.
It hurts, my belly button aches, and there are tears in my eyes from the sudden pain.
The man stares at the jewel, a wicked smile coming to his face. "This is mark of sex slave."
"But I'm not a sex slave," I argue, the very words making me shiver in the worst way possible.
He touches the jewel, making me squeeze my eyes shut as an aching pain flares up in my stomach. "You are sex slave to me," he says, grabbing my chin and gripping it firmly. "And you will obey me, slave."
How can this be happening to me?
I'm a prince, destined to be a king! I have lived in a peaceful kingdom my whole life, we do not quarrel with other kingdoms... so why must they attack us?
We haven't done anything to hurt anyone.
The man pushes me onto my back. "You will learn language I speak," he says to me, and I assumed that would be the case. He says a word in his language and makes me repeat it.
"You say that when speak to me," he orders, looking over my body. "It means 'Master.'"
I don't want to say it, but I wish to gain his trust so I can escape eventually. "Yes, Master," I say in his language, because I am smart and I've picked up on a few words already.
He grins, saying something else that I don't understand, but it does not sound malicious enough to make me more afraid than I already am.
"Stay quiet," he tells me as he opens my legs forcefully.
My eyes widen and I can't help it; I attempt to kick him away and try to crawl away, but he is bigger than me and easily pins me down taking off his dark clothing and pressing his erect member against my rear entrance.
"No, no!" I cry, trying to squirm away, but he doesn't allow it.
"Are you pure?"
I nod, starting to cry from fear. "Yes, I've never had sex!" I say, sobbing because I know he is going to hurt me.
He chuckles. "Good. I like my whores tight," he says, pushing my knees to my chest before he pushes himself all the way inside of me, the pain so much that it makes me shriek and start crying even harder.
The entire time he barbarically uses me like a toy, my mind keeps running on repeat.
Why me?
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