A/N: Merry Christmas guys! I tried to upload before Christmas, but I was away on vacation, so there was no time. I hope this chapter is enough to keep you going for a little while, because next update is Oblivion.

To the Guest that said they wanted to read the book I'm basing this on, go ahead. It's awesome. The second one in the series is my favorite book so far. To you, and all my other readers, read ACOTAR, it's really worth it.

His blood was the deepest shade of red I had ever seen and it flowed out of his chest like a river. His beautiful eyes that were full of fear few moments ego, now were blank and expressionless. He was dead. No. I had killed him.

"Good." Enzo told me in a flat tone. "Move on to the next one." Something in his tone told me that he wasn't happy with how easily I completed his task. Perhaps he was hoping for a show. Well, I wasn't going to give him anything.

He unmasked the second person, who was a middle-aged woman that could have been my mother. Taking a breath I positioned myself to deliver the second lethal blow for the day. But then Enzo stopped me.

"No." He said. "This time, slice her throat open."

My breath hitched, but I didn't let it show. If he thought that this didn't affect me, it would make things easier for me, or so I thought. My hand was slightly shaking, as I drew a deep line at the woman's throat. Blood was squirting out of the wound on my face and dress, but I didn't let my disgust show.

"Next one?" I asked him in a impatient tone. My attitude screamed bored and unmoved. Perfect.

That earned me a genuine smile. As if he thought that I was a sadistic monster that enjoyed torture like him. "You won't be killing the last one." He informed me, unmasking the person. "Take away his eyes." He then added in a lower voice, "And make it painful."

It killed me to hear the man's screams of pain and look at his face which was overtaken by utter horror, as I slowly carved his eyes out. When I was done, I thought I might puke, but I put on my best poker face and asked, "Is that all it?"

He chuckled softly, "I am surprised you are enjoying this so much."

I smiled cryptically back at him. "I'm full of surprises."

"Well, since you are doing so great, why not rush the whole thing?" He asked, sounding satisfied. "You can take a little extra, can't you?" Enzo teased, winking.

"I will handle whatever you throw at me."

….

I don't think I have regretted words more in my life than those I said to Enzo at the end of my first lesson. I was being cocky and arrogant, and now he was making me pay for it.

In the middle of the room, a young girl was strapped to a pole, her face as white as her dress. She wasn't gagged, so frantic questions flowed out of her mouth like a river. What is happening? What are you going to do to me? Who are you?

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, dropping my fake indifference and for once during my time with him, showing him what I really felt. Horror.

"You will drink her blood." Enzo told me deadpan as if informing me about the weather.

"What?" The girl and I exclaimed in unison. "Please, no… Don't make me do this." I thought that maybe, just maybe, if I begged him, if I gave him what he wanted, he would then forgive me. Right now, my dignity didn't matter a single bit.

"Don't worry, love." A feline smirk tugged on the corner of his lips. "It tastes good."

He handed me a dagger and his cold and stern eyes made it clear that this was punishment. He was putting me to where I belonged. The worst of all was that I deserved it.

"Please…" The girl whimpered as I pressed the dagger against the skin on her neck. "Don't!" She screamed, as I cut into her flesh. "Stop!" A desperate plea as her thick blood ran down the length of her neck.

I did my best to mute her as I brought my lips in contact with the crimson liquid. It was warm and felt nice against my lips and tongue. The taste, however… It was divine. It felt as if I was tasting the core of this world.

What started as a gentle touch of the lips, quickly turned into greedy gulps. I only stop when the girl didn't have any more blood to give. I focused on my surroundings as the realizations started hitting me one by one.

I had killed a girl by draining her of blood- and I had enjoyed it. The worst of all, standing a few feet away from me, was Alex. She was looking at me with… disappointment? Compassion? Guilt?

"Alex…" It was barely a whisper but I knew she heard me.

"Oh, did I forgot to mention that her Majesty we'll be joining us for a short period?" Enzo asked, acting all innocent.

"Yes. Yes, you did." I said, shooting him a deadly glare.

"How irresponsible of me…" He faked a sigh. "Anyway… I'm sorry darling, but unfortunately I can't spend all my time with you- I have other things to take care of."

"Such a shame." I told him cynically and I swear I saw a ghost of a smile appear on Alex's lips. "How long will you stay?" I asked her, feeling way too nervous for such a stupid question.

"A few weeks." She replied uncomfortably. Clearing her throat, she said, "I have to go."

"Don't." It came out instinctively, but thankfully it was muttered under my breath.

Alex looked at me with emotionless eyes but almost reached out to touch me. She didn't say anything as she walked outside of the room, having Enzo follow behind her.

…..

Days past and the only thing I did was complete more of Enzo tasks and then go back to my room, where I cried my insides out. Tonight was a night like that, where I let my tears try to wash off the filth that was slowly covering me after each kill.

My sobs were so loud, that I didn't hear the creak the door made as it opened and then closed again. It wasn't until I felt a hand on my back, that I realized I was no longer alone. I immediately turned around, squinting my eyes in a failed attempt to recognize the face that was inches apart from mine. But I didn't need my sight to know it was her.

"Hey." Alex said softly. "Did I wake you up?"

I haven't slept in weeks. "No." I replied.

She hesitated a little before asking, "Are you okay?"

Despite my best attempts to fight it off, a single tear travelled down my cheek, leaving a wet line behind it. "Not even a little bit." I whispered.

"C-can I help?" Just like mine, her voice was full of pain.

"No." Yes. "Maybe…"

"Tell me what to do." It was nothing more than a broken plea. It was as if she had asked, tell me how to make the pain go away.

You can't. "I don't know." I admitted.

Alex didn't say anything. Instead, she started to get up from the bed.

"No." I felt the panic rush through me, but all I managed was a soft breath.

Alex immediately stilled, waiting for my command.

"Stay." I told her. "Hold me." The next word was almost inaudible. "Please."

Without saying anything, she slipped under the blanket that covered me. I was glad for the lack of words, because nothing could deliver a better message than Alex wrapping her arms around my waist, pulling me impossibly close to her. She was warm and soft.

"Sleep, Pipes." She whispered against the top of my head before placing a tender kiss on it.

And for the first time in a long time, I was able to sleep, without being awoken by terrible nightmares.

But of course, just like most times, Alex wasn't there when I woke up in the morning.

…..

I needed to see Alex. To talk to her about last night. About everything.

I was making my way down the hallway to Enzo's room, determined to demand for Alex's whereabouts, when I bumped into something, or rather someone.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying much attention to where-" I stopped mid-sentence, my eyes widening in realization. "Larry?!"

"P-piper?" He asked hesitantly, taking a good look at me. "Shit… Piper!" Larry said my name again, this time pulling me into a tight embrace. "I thought I would never see you again." He murmured, his hot breath hitting my neck.

"Same here." I told him, unable to wrap my mind around what I was experiencing. "W-what are you doing here?" Was the first rational question that came to my mind.

"It's kind of a long story…" He said, looking down.

"Are you… gifted?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

He looked shocked. "How do you know about this? D-do you live here? Are you like … me?"

"Woah, slow down…" I teased, buying myself time to find proper answers to his never ending questions. "Let's start by what you have heard."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Things are not … great back at the village. A lot has happened since you left."

I remained silent, urging him to continue.

"At first, everybody felt disgusted towards the evil queen who came to steal Chapman's daughter. They were very sympathetic, helped your family a lot."

I held my breath, waiting for the bad things to start happening.

"But then, one day, your brother went to the square and told everybody that your father had sold you out. That he wasn't the victim everybody thought he was." Larry paused. "The thing is, Cal had visited me the day before that. He confided in me about how much he hated his father for giving you away. I could have convinced him to stay quite. Your family wouldn't be starving if I had."

"Larry, it's not your fault. I appreciate you wanting to help my family, but you have no obligation to." I said quietly, unable to look at him right in the eyes.

"What are you talking about? I was going to marry you- they would have been my family too." He stated as a matter of fact.

"Well, you didn't marry me. And they aren't your responsibility." I told him, perhaps a little more coldly than I should have.

"But, now that we are both in this part of the world, things can be normal again." And there came the inevitable. "We could still marry. We could have this beautiful mansion and-"

"Larry." I said, snapping him out of his daydream. "I belong to Al- to the Queen." That was true in more than one ways.

That seemed to trouble him, but only for a little. "That's fine. I could buy you from her. She'll probably be glad to have the money she should have gotten from your father- no offense, by the way." He was so wrong…

"With what money?" I asked him as if that was the only flaw in his grand plan.

"I'm training to join the Queen's guard. It's only made of gifted people and the pay is unbelievable."

Before he could start listing the things we could buy with that money, I asked, "What's your power?"

He flashed me a boyish smile before lighting his hand on fire.

"That's so cool…" I said, inspecting the flame that burned brightly at the tips of his fingers. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Not even a single bit." He informed me proudly.

"Watch out with that, or you might burn the whole place down." A voice I knew too well, said.

The moment he saw Alex, the flame vanished and he fell down on his knees, in an overly exaggerated bow. A few heartbeats later, I followed his example. "My Queen." He said and I repeated it, giving an entire new meaning to those words.

"Rise." She sounded bored. Or at least wanted us to think so.

"It is such an honor to meet you in person." Larry started. "I would be so proud if I became your guard-"

"Then you better earn it, boy, because nothing in this life comes without a price." Alex was speaking to him, but her eyes were glued onto me. "You," she finally addressed me, "follow me." She made sure to show no emotion, but I could read past her concrete mask.

"Who is he?" She asked me when we are far enough from Larry.

"Doesn't matter." I said quickly. "I need to talk to you."

"You are talking to me right now." Alex told me and I almost rolled my eyes. "Who is he?" She asked again and I knew I had no chance of escaping her.

"He is Larry." I paused, struggling to find the best way to tell her. "He is the guy I was… um… promised to, back at my village." Her jaw twitched slightly, but didn't respond in any other way. "About last night…"

"Last night?' She asked, sounding completely clueless.

"Yeah, last night. When you visited me and-"

"I didn't visit you." Her voice was harsh and unforgiving. "You were probably dreaming again."

"I wasn't dreaming, Alex."

"I did not visit you." She repeated.

I was either wrong, or Alex was lying. But why would she be lying?

"Okay." Was all I thought to say, as I watched her walk away.

A/N: Someone suggested a romantic conflict and I thought that bringing Larry back would make things more interesting. What do you guys think? I appreciate your feedback a lot :)