hey guys!
WARNING
this chapter has a few inappropriate scenes, if you can't handle sexual situations, just skip those parts, thanks.
Now now to the story...
How long have I been here? It's hard to say, I try not to think about it. It drives the madness.
Madness?
The madness that tends to crawl through your mind like worms when you're trapped in a pitch black cell with a stone door that weighs ten times more than the heaviest person you've seen.
And every so often, you hear something beyond the little barred window, facing inside of course.
You hear it and you hope, you hope harder than you've ever hoped that somebody, anybody will come and let you out, to no avail, obviously.
Except today.
Today there's the footsteps coming toward my prison, and the rattle of keys against my door.
Finally.
The door creeks open, causing a painfully loud screech to echo throughout the basement.
I stay curled up against the back wall, looking pathetic and useless in all my unsanitary glory.
In front of me stands the familiar tall black figure, holding a lantern up near his face.
"Good to see you, Ivy." His derisive voice echoes quietly on the wall behind me.
I refuse to speak, I haven't heard my voice in what seems like days.
My throat is arid and burning, so I'm sure my voice would come out strained and weak.
Claude steps closer to me, extending a black gloved hand.
I stare up at him, his eyes which seem to glow with the lantern, with a subtle display of reluctance, I take his hand.
He pulls me up gently, as if he knows my body is weak and fragile due to the lack of movement and nourishment.
My legs threaten to give out underneath me, a numbing ache attacking my spine which has been hunched over in defeat, and for the first time, I straighten it. Desperate cracks sound loudly as my spine readjusts.
I've never felt so helpless in my entire life.
Memories came flooding through that I never had the chance to remember.
Claude had somehow managed to knock Sebastian unconscious during my relentless attacks and I soon gave up due to lack of energy, back in the hotel room.
How could I have been so reckless!?
It's that shit that brought me here.
A dim light outlined a rectangle on top of a set of stone stairs, a door.
We walked up the stairs wordlessly, every step caused a new jolt of pain in my knees. Pathetic.
The door opened slowly, causing a rush of unbearable light to flood through, like a broken levy to a rushing river.
I ripped my arm out of Claude's grip, and brought it up to shield my eyes.
My incredibly sensitive eyes, I suppose that's what days of pure darkness does to you.
I hear Claude sigh and then I hear footsteps and the small click of the light switch. I expose my eyes, it's a lot dimmer now, like things are floating in a pool of dark orange light. I blink rapidly, as my eyes adjust.
We're in a kitchen.
"Welcome to my home," Claude says in a sardonic tone.
I stare at him again, letting my eyes burn through his flesh, in my head of course.
He looks confused for a fraction of a second and then speaks, "Ah! You must need water. You were down there for quite a while."
He walks to the tall stainless steel fridge, and fills a cup with purified water, offering it to me.
I glare at him and take the water, bringing it to my lips with my shaking hands.
The water glides down my throat and brings instant satisfaction, I want to moan and almost cry at the wonderful feeling.
I finish the water rather quickly, my throat instantly begging for more, but I keep quiet about it for now.
"What the hell do you want with me?" I spit at Claude, my voice sounding rigid and raw. But strong, stronger than it would had I gone dehydrated any longer.
"I want you to go upstairs and get cleaned up. You look like a sewer rat." He states, obviously satisfied with himself.
I scoff, "Fuck you."
"We also need to get rid of that simply atrocious attitude." Another smirk creeps up on his face as he steps closer to me.
I continue to glare, like a child, I know, but it's the only way I can defend myself in my weakened state.
He stares straight into my eyes, concentrating strongly.
Suddenly my airways begin to close, my throat restricting and I instinctively begin gasping. My hands shoot up to my throat, grasping and clawing as my vision gets blurry.
Then it stops, I can breathe again. I take in greedy gasps, as if no amount go oxygen will ever be enough to satisfy my broken lungs.
"What was that!?" I cough feebly.
"Look at your right hand, darling." Claude states simply.
I slowly lift my right hand into view, to see something absolutely horrid.
A black tattoo of a spider web stretches from the tip of my middle finger to my mid forearm, twisting around sickly.
My breath catches in my throat.
"I have infinite power over you with that tattoo." Claude's cynical tone returning.
I stare at him, my mouth hanging slightly open, "What?"
He chuckles, "Some old type of sorcery. I mark you with that tattoo and my thoughts control you. For example..."
I glare at him, when almost instantly my foot pushed in front of the other one, propelling me towards Claude. I do everything in my power to prevent it, straining my legs and locking my knees. All which proved useless.
When I finally gain control over my body, I fall against Claude's chest.
"You fucking rat!" I cry as another sharp pain pierces my wrist.
I hold back a shriek.
"I wouldn't talk to me like that if I were you, Ivy Cross. You don't fully understand what I'm capable of." He stands still as I straighten up, distancing us.
I stare at him, tears dotting my eyes, I don't allow myself to cry. How could I have gotten into this? How long has it been? Not too long, Allister would have...
"Allister..." I say almost inaudibly.
Almost.
"Oh don't worry, I sent him a text from your phone. He thinks you have bad signal. You're covered." He offered a subtle wink.
"You.." My lips seal over the vile thoughts that taste my tongue.
This summons yet another smirk.
"Well, now that you somewhat understand your position here, I'll get to telling you why I've taken you. You see, I..."
He stops, my glare bubbles with angst and he chuckles before continuing.
"I have been growing quite lonely, here all by myself. I haven't put very much effort into finding a suitable companion. It took me a bit to figure out, though. I was looking in all the wrong places. Clubs, bars, hell, even libraries. But nobody in any of those places really caught my eye. They were all the same. Mindless humans with nothing appealing at all. Even their souls reeked of normalcy. I'd almost given up. I sat at home, all alone, bored beyond belief. Living for so long has proved quite a drag, if you ask me."
My gaze falters, from irritated and hostile, to confused and a bit frustrated.
He waits as if I'm supposed to react, I simply nod, encouraging him to continue.
"Then I began picking up this... This smell. It was wonderful, alluring, and I hadn't the slightest idea where it came from. It smelled like rain... Rain, storms, and roses. Can you believe that? Roses. Weird, huh? Some of my local friends were talking about how some red headed goth girl just waltzed right up into the high school for Sebastian Michaelis. Just took him right out of the school. Then it hit me! I knew the smell! I knew it so very well. It was the girl I turned all those years ago! Ivy Cross Edwards! You! Everything clicked, my perfect companion. The girl I created. Youre the one, Ivy. My perfect companion."
I gawk at him, almost dumbstruck. This motherfucker attacked me, then knocked me unconscious, then imprisoned me, and cast a spell on me, all because he's lonely!?
"What?" Is all I can force through my lips and awe.
"Funny, isn't it?"
"Are you INSANE!?" The rage conjures up at my core, and climbs to my throat, sitting there, I swallow.
His brows furrow as if he didn't expect me to be angry, "I figured you'd be relieved..."
The rage skips right out of my throat and explodes through my words, "You thought I'd be relieved!? Fucking RELIEVED!? You ARE insane. You're an insane bastard! You useless PIECE OF SHIT! I cannot BELIEVE YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO KIDNAP ME, AND PUT A GOD DAMN SPELL ON ME, AND FUCKING IMPRISON ME, AND EXPECT ME TO BE RELIEVED WHEN I FIND OUT ITS ONLY BECAUSE YOU WANT ME TO BE A TOY TO YOUR LONESOME. BECAUSE YOURE LONELY."
I breathe in deep, prepared to start again, just as my throat constructs once again.
The low life bastard.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that, again. Don't you dare make me seem like some stupid boy in my own home. Or anywhere for that matter. It appears you don't understand your position. And for that, you will be punished." He hisses in anger. A different kind of anger, the kind that stays quiet, deadly.
Frightening.
He stomps toward me, gripping my wrist violently and pulling me behind him, he makes a beeline for a cream colored door with a golden nob. He twists it open and reveals a red and gold bedroom.
He flings me onto the bed and I let out a yelp.
He closes the door behind him.
No.
He comes over to the bed, climbing over me and suspending me beneath him, one hand on each wrist.
Perfect opportunity to knee him where it hurts.
I go for it, only to be abruptly interrupted by his grip, one hand was free.
I try to punch him, only to have that blocked as well.
"If you're not going to willingly stop putting up a useless fight, I'll use the tattoo to do it myself. And I can promise you that will be a lot worse." He spits.
I sigh in defeat, letting a hot tear slide down my cheek.
He lowers himself against me, putting his mouth to my ear, "Try not to scream too much."
I whimper beneath the man more powerful than me.
And usually I wouldn't give up this easily, I would find a way out. But for some reason it's like I'm exhausted, physically and mentally, like I don't feel the motivation to fight. Or to try.
He begins beneath my ear, kissing down to my neck, causing me to let my head fall back. He stays in one spot for a while, sending goosebumps over my skin.
I may hate him, but it still feels good.
And I hate myself for thinking like that.
He moves lower, kissing my collar bones, and then my chest.
He stops, "No."
I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding in.
"This is wrong. You.. You need to go get cleaned up.. I'll run you a bath, we can continue after that." He rises, and walks to another cream colored door which, I'm guessing, leads to the bathroom.
I lay there shocked, why had he stopped? I mean, I'm grateful he did, but I've never known Claude as a moral man.
Soon after, without giving me much time to think, Claude returns.
"It's ready." He rubs his temples, walking out of the room the way we came.
I get up slowly, as my whole body still hurts.
I walk to the bathroom, the tiles feeling cool on my skin. It's big, very big, the bathtub big enough to fit three. That sends a wave of paranoia, which I choose to ignore, through my system.
I close the door and strip, ensuring myself that Claude is nowhere to be seen, and ease into the bubble filled steaming water.
I lay my head back as the heat soothes all my aches and pains, it's as if I can physically feel the dirt rise from my skin,
I submerge my whole head under the water, scratching at my scalp to free my hair of the soot that stains it.
When I'm satisfied, I emerge once again, wiping my eyes and allowing them to close again as I lean back.
The words to a sing fall out of my mouth instinctively.
I'm singing, weird.
"Blame it on me, set your guilt free.
Nothing can hold you back now.
Now that you're gone, feel like myself again.
Grieving the things I can't repair, and willing...
To let you blame it on me, set your guilt free,
I don't wanna hold you back now, love,
I can't change who I am.
Not this time, I won't lie to keep you near me.
And in this short life, there's no time to waste in giving up,
My love wasn't enough."
"Lovely." Claude's voice startles me.
He wearing nothing but a towel.
Oh dear god.
How can I ignore what's right in front of me!? I hate this man more than anything, but god, those abs...
"I uh.. Thanks." I mutter.
He steps closer to the bathtub, he's not going to get in here, is he!?
Oh god.
My suspicions prove correct as his towel drops and he says, "I hope you don't mind my joining you," behind his signature smirk.
"No!" I shout in protest.
Mistake.
The water suddenly feels burning hot, like my skin is actively singeing right off of my bones, I moan in pain.
Back to normal.
"When you moan like that..." He bites his lip, and steps into the water.
I curl up in the corner of the tub, my knees covering everything, my hands hugging them close.
He chuckles and yawns, stretching his arms and sitting comfortably on the other side of the tub.
His hand grips my calf, pulling my leg away from my chest, I don't bother protesting. I'd rather not feel my skin being fried again.
He pulls the other leg away and moves over to me, facing me.
My breath comes out in uneven attempts as my eyes lock with his.
He put his hands on my waist, holding tightly, and closing his eyes, breathing deeply.
He lifts me slightly with his hands and brings me into him again, his lips meeting my neck.
Goosebumps.
He pulls me against him, my bare skin against his, and crashes his lips into mine.
Kissing me hungrily and greedily, his his hands move from my waist to my back, holding me against him tightly.
He moves my legs so that I'm straddling his hips between my knees.
I don't want this.
I force my lips away from him, mustering up all my strength and courage, the tears welling at my eyes, "Claude, please don't..."
He stares at me, his grip on my body loosening.
"... I wasn't.. Um, you can go, I have night clothes for you on the bed in my room."
I offer a small smile, "Thank you."
I start to get up before pausing, I look back at Claude, "Don't look."
He chuckles and turns the other way.
I dry myself with a white towel and leave to go to his room.
A small square of folded silk sat on his bed.
If was a gown, a sleeping gown, it had no sleeves and hugged my waist, the fell limply to the floor. The silk felt amazing on my skin.
I braid my hair and sit on the bed.
I can't believe Claude showed me emotion like that.
He gave in.
hey again! I'm sorry it took me so long to update.. But this chapter was really fun for me to write, I hope you like it! Thoughts on Claude? Anything you think I'm leaving out or should improve, whatever it is, let me know. like always, I love reviews! also, the song she sings in this chapter is Lacrymosa by Evanescence. Amazing song, anyway, thanks for reading!