She reached the massive gates in seconds and saw the sun setting. She was wearing a tattered brown cloak, and she stumbled to the ground weakly.
"Who goes there?!" a guard cried out.
"I am a girl from the village to the East!" she cried. "We were attacked!"
"Let her in!" he called out to another guard. The gates opened wide, and she was carried in. She could barely walk, as it was.
"Let's have a look," the first guard said, as he studied her face. "She's beaten up pretty badly! Take her to the healer!"
She felt herself get lifted and rushed to the medical wing of the castle. The old healer looked at her with great concern and began to heal the worst parts of her beating. She was glad he did not have to work on bare flesh, as she did not want her skulls revealed. That would have destroyed everything.
"This is the most awful thing I have ever seen!" he grumbled, as he started healing the smaller bruises.
"I was captured by demons," she whispered. "They did such horrible things to me…I don't want to remember them!"
"I see. Well, you are perfectly safe here," he said.
"No! I'm not! I overheard their plans! They are going to swarm this place!" she said with a mocked fear.
"What?! That's impossible!" the healer said. "Surely they are going to dig up from the ground beneath us…"
"No, they're not!" she said in a rush. "They said you'd be expecting it! They were going to try a night attack above ground!"
"My God…" he breathed. "I must notify the king right away! You are healed now, child. One of the servants will bring you to a bed chamber for you to dress. You will be led to the king afterwards."
She nodded and watched him leave. She snickered silently at how easy this was. A man came in wearing brown peasant garb and bowed to her. She nodded, and he took her to a bottom floor guest room. A big silver bathtub was filled with fresh, scented water, and several maids were ready to help her dress.
"Um, can I bathe alone please?" she whispered. "I never had the opportunity to bathe alone since my attack!"
"Surely, miss," a maid said with a smile. They all left. She made sure the door was bolted, and she covered the windows. She pulled the tattered cloak off and sank into the heated water. She scrubbed off all the filth and dirt she could. She looked at her skulls and grumbled. I'll have to hide them with extra padding. She hoped the dress would have extra ruffles on the bust area. She scrubbed her hair clean and stood up to let the water run off her. She found a nearby drying cloth and dried herself.
"Now, where is the dress they want me to wear?" she growled, as she searched. She found it on the massive bed and raised her brow. They had given her a silver and black corset dress with short sleeves. The skirt was full and reached the ground easily. When she put it on, she unbolted the door and summoned a maid to help her finish it. At a first glance, the maid knew what had to be done.
"This dress suits you!" the maid said with a pleased tone.
"It's been so long since I had a decent dress. I never had one as fine as this, though," Saithe admitted. I was too poor to own much, as it was.
"Oh, it was Prince Jonas's idea. He saw you carried in and decided to help you out with your clothes."
"Really? Then I must thank him personally," she said with a mildly sarcastic tone in her voice. The maid looked at her strangely, but she shrugged it off. The dress gave her a drastic cleavage, but the ruffles covered up the skulls nicely. The maid never saw them, much to Saithe's relief.
She fixed up Saithe's hair into a spiraled braid that gently reached the floor. At a second glance, the maid looped the braid into a soft bun to keep her hair from dragging on the floor, but it let the hair stay long. After a final approving glance, she led Saithe to the throne room where she was being expected.
"Ah! Our young maiden in distress," the king said joyfully. "You look much better now. I'm glad you are safe."
"I'm glad I was able to make it here in time. I thought I was going to die," she said quietly. The room was filled with noblemen and noblewomen, but she did not care about them. She did notice a brown haired, blue-eyed man of medium build staring at her. He was wearing dark green clothes of royal standards. She judged that he must be Prince Jonas. She smiled at him and watched his eyes widen.
"Jonas! Quit staring at her! You are betrothed!" the king snapped. She giggled and batted her eyes at the Prince. Hell, I'll seduce him to break his heart!
"But, Sire, is she not the fairest maiden you've ever seen?" Jonas asked. "Please, what is your name?"
"My name?" she crooned. "It's…Lilith."
The room gasped.
"Lilith? The same Lilith that Clyde spoke of when he trained here?" the prince asked. She nodded greatly.
"However, I s-saw him…killed," she said with a stammer. "He had just come home to claim me as his bride, and his head got lopped off by a demon!"
The room went into a flurry of angered exclamations. The king rose his hand and the room went quiet.
"He will be missed greatly. He was one of the greatest Knights here," the king sighed. "All of our Squires thought of him as a legend when he left our halls."
"Apparently, he was not great enough," she said sadly. She even let a tear fall from her cheek to make them think she missed the blonde idiot. Her plan worked to perfection. The room rumbled louder.
"We will make sure that your safety is a direct order!" Jonas said.
"Miss Lilith," the healer said. "were you raped during your ordeal?"
"I…I was!" she said. "Why?"
"You may be pregnant with evil spawn," the healer said. The room went silent.
"Can you remove it?!" she asked. The healer shook his head.
"I tried and something repelled my magic. Apparently, only the same evil that gave you the child can remove it."
Jonas went white with fury. He vowed to help her in any way he could. Saithe was distraught. I don't want children! She was sure that Horny didn't, either. He'll have to help me remove the unwanted fetus. She just trembled at how he would do it. Jonas saw her tremble and took it as a sure sign of fear.
"Please," Jonas said, as he stepped up to her. "let me escort you around the castle. I would enjoy showing you the grounds. If I may?"
"I would be honored," she said with a polite curtsey. She noticed that he took this time to study her ample cleavage, and she sneered to herself. Disgusting whelp! I'll have fun ripping out his heart!
He smiled and offered his arm, which she took slowly. He began to give her a grand tour of the castle. She made note of every room and sent the shadows off with mental commands. The castle was well fortified except for the stable grounds and the servant rooms. The only reason was that they were near the middle of the castle. They were to be already well protected from attack.
"Then there is the dungeon," the prince grimaced. "We don't really use them anymore except for common thieves. Normally, a night there with the rats tends to turn their minds around fairly quickly."
"I can tell," she said. He looked at her in thought and took her up to the watch tower. The full splendor of the last rays of the setting sun turned her pale skin to a warm gold, and she shuddered at the horror of it.
"May I ask you something?" he asked.
"Surely."
"I have never fallen in love at first sight before. I can tell why Clyde did the same when he was younger."
"To tell the truth, I never loved him. He tried to rape me when I was a child."
"He what?!" he spat.
"Yes. I told him to leave me in peace, and he refused. I managed to flee from him, and I could never trust him again. I had actually refused his marriage proposal. He swore that he would do whatever he had to in order to keep me at his side. I felt like a…a common dog! I could never love someone who would treat me as such."
At first, he wasn't sure of her words. Then he saw how serious she was, and how her eyes clearly portrayed only the truth. He was outraged that the most honorable Knight that graced their halls would stoop to such discord over a woman.
"I would never hurt you," he said. She looked at him and smiled.
"I know you wouldn't. But, you should not waste your time with me. I need to sleep now. Fair thee well until morning," she said gracefully. He raised her hand and pressed it to his lips before releasing it.
"Have a good night," he smiled and watched her leave.
"How charming!" she sneered when she was away from him. "I'll tell my mate of this, and he will cut his lips off!"
She was hungry and found her way to the stables. When she was offered a place at the table earlier, she had declined saying she had a headache. She looked at the horses and sensed their fear. They knew what she was. They bucked with their ears back, and she made her way to the king's prized black charger. She grinned and revealed her fangs. She took the dress off carefully and walked around the stable. The horse whinnied loudly with fright and kicked the walls.
"Such a fighting spirit!" she breathed. She summoned a shadow, and it paralyzed the horse. She grinned at the trapped beast and walked into the stable. The massive horse trembled, as her hands touched the hide. She worked her hands around until she found the thunderous heart working. With a hiss, she ripped the horse open. The beast tried to scream in pain, but the shadow took away its voice. With agony, the horse died while she feasted on the heart. When she was done, she cleaned herself off in the horse trough and placed her dress back on. She let the shadows spirit her back into her room.
"That was yummy!" she grinned. She stretched and yawned. She shrieked when a massive hand clamped over her mouth, and another hand pulled her against a rock hard chest. Horny had found his way to her and had already removed his armor.
"What is this?!" he snarled with disgust at the dress. He ripped it off her and threw it on the ground. He studied her hair, and he undid the braid to let it go free. He looked at the large, soft bed and grumbled his disapproval. He saw the deer skin rug and grinned. He pushed her onto it and began to lower himself onto her.
"There is something…you must know," she gasped, as he licked her neck.
"What?" he rumbled.
"I'm pregnant!" she hissed. He got up slightly to look at her with shock. I got her with offspring?! That's impossible! And yet…no. We can't have offspring happen right now. It must be removed.
"They couldn't remove it?!" he snarled.
"Only you can. The healer tried, and his magic was repelled."
Horny thought and placed a hand on her belly. He felt his offspring moving silently, and he snarled. He clearly didn't want children yet, either.
"This is going to hurt. A lot!" he growled. She nodded and braced herself. He placed a finger into her and worked his whole hand in. She ground her teeth from the pain and seethed with anger. She felt him cut her womb open with a claw, and she gasped. Her body was trembling from the horrific pains, and he placed his free hand onto her to push her down. He ripped the fetus free from her womb and held it aloft. With a snarl, he focused on the fireplace, and it burst into flames. He threw the fetus into the fire and watched it burn.
When that was done, he licked his hand clean of her blood and saw her breathing heavily. He had an idea. He pulled her hips up to his face and forced his tongue in as deep as it would go. He heard her shriek with surprise, and he felt her arch away from him. His tongue had just breached the very insides of her ravaged womb, and he enjoyed the way she writhed away from him. A moment later, he retracted his tongue, and he shoved himself into her. She shrieked from another pain when he breached her womb again. He ravaged her body with his hands while he pummeled into her. She grabbed onto his horns and wrapped her legs around his waist. He felt her skulls pushing against his own two piercings, and he lost all forms of control.
He grunted at his release and collapsed onto her. She was breathing heavily again, and he licked her neck. The fiery seed he released into her made her feel like she was being ravaged by his hand all over again, and she had to keep from whimpering.
"Your shadows told me of a prince," he snarled. "He is in love with you?"
"I was hoping you'd help me rip him to pieces," she whispered. He grinned at the thought and nodded. It would be fun to do that.
"Actually, it would be more fun letting the Mistress torture him. If he converted, we could get him to slay his own father," he said aloud in thought.
"That would be very intriguing," she said in agreement. He smiled and began to lick the sweat off her body.
"We should attack now," he grunted.
"Actually, give it one more night. I just killed the king's prized war horse. I want the confusion to start before I kill the servants off," she mused. He looked at her and started laughing. He agreed. He was moving to take her again when he heard a hushed whisper. He snapped his head around to glare at the noise. A servant had entered the room silently to replace a candle and stared at the scene.
"Miss?" the man asked. When he saw her smile, he knew the truth. He ran to the door, but Horny's scythe cut him down easily. She pulled out the man's heart and feasted on it. The blood was licked off her quickly, and she heard him snarl. He didn't want to leave her again.
"You have to go back down," she urged. He snarled at the thought.
"You have no idea how badly I was suffering!" he grumbled. "Especially when that puny, impotent prince tried to court you…"
"Leave him to the Mistress," she smiled. "Tomorrow night, I will lead him here. Either that, or just watch from the shadows for the right moment. You can do all the convincing when he is in the right position."
He laughed again and gazed into her black eyes. He felt her tug on his horns, and he kissed her deeply. He wanted her again, but he knew it would have to wait. When she whispered her next plan to him, he started laughing. She was going to run about the castle in a night robe screaming that she was raped again. He was grinning from the thought of it, and he stood up tall. He replaced his armor and nodded to her before he let the shadows take him back. She got up and put on a filmy night robe. She dipped the cloth in the servant's blood, and she smiled. Then she screamed horrifically.
The castle was a flurry of movement after that. They found her terrified and bunched up into a corner. They managed to learn that the demon had returned and removed her pregnancy in the most painful manner possible before raping her again. She told the guards that the servant was slain upon discovery before the demon left. Another bout of chaos occurred from the stables. The king was awakened to the news that his horse was dead and missing its heart.
"The demons are among us!" a servant cried. "They have come when the girl came to us! She should be destroyed!"
"You are talking nonsense!" Jonas snarled and shoved the servant away. The prince walked up to Saithe and tried to comfort her.
"I am not safe here!" she said with terror. "I need to flee! The servant is right! I'm just putting all of you in danger!"
"Nonsense! Come with me," he urged. She looked at him and swallowed before nodding. He took her into his bedroom and closed the door. He kept glancing at her body through the filmy shift and found himself burning with desire for her. At the gesture for her to rest in his bed with him, she seemed to glare at him.
"What are you doing?" she asked cautiously.
"I am going to keep you safe with me," he said. She saw him lick his lips quickly, and she knew exactly how he was planning to keep her safe.
"You are planning to rape me!" she said with pure fear.
"No! I would never do that!" he said. "Now, please, we must remove those blood stained garments! I'm sure you're feeling cold, too."
"No!" she shrieked. "I will not let you touch me!"
"I am not going to hurt you!" he growled and managed to pull the filmy fabric off. When he saw her pierced skulls and belly button, his mouth dropped with disbelief.
"As you can see, I am already claimed!" she said with a fanged smile. He watched her sprout her black wings, and her tail curved up her side. He went to move towards her with a dagger in his hand, but a shining curve of steel slid neatly around his neck. Horny grunted and grinned at her. He was watching in the shadows for this moment, and she was glad that he did.
"Now, young fool, you have some explaining to do as to why you tried to court my young bride!" he sneered. "If you lie, I will not hesitate to pull my scythe back and lop off your head like that of Clyde's!"
"You killed Sir Clyde?!" Jonas said with terror. "You cut down the mightiest swordsman that ever graced our halls?!"
"Oh, yes. Then his corpse graced our Graveyard for an army of undead to feast upon!" Horny grinned. "However, you have a choice."
"What?" Jonas asked.
"Join our legion, and you will live. You'll get paid, there are really no rules at how you live, and there is a Mistress you can even slap around."
"Never!" the prince cried. Horny hit him on the back of the head, and Jonas slumped to the ground.
"It won't matter," Horny shrugged. "You'll just be tortured into submission."
He kissed Saithe deeply once more before throwing the prince's body onto his shoulder. When he left, Saithe felt good. She finally felt like she accomplished something. She let her wings sink back down with her tail. She put her gown back on and ran back to her bedroom. She smiled and stretched with contentment. She could almost hear the screams of torment from the prince, and she grinned. She jumped into the large bed and fell asleep.
