Prisoner of Volkor
Edited by: xtremesmw
The island fortress of Volkor had always carried a bloody reputation. Once built to guard the west coast of Flyrim from pirates and other undesirables, its constructions were put on hold during one of the worst winters the coast had ever experienced and was never finished. That was until group of slavers found the half completed fortress and set about completing what the pegasi of Flyrim were unable to finish.
For almost a century, these slavers harassed the west coast, attacking them with the speed of the wind before retreating to their secure hold. Several times, armies had laid siege to the fortress, but it was a futile effort as Volkor's black walls were too thick for any siege engines to break, and too high for any ladder. The slavers believed that they were unconquerable; they were right in believing so. They had survived the many attempts to dislodge them from their fortress and they were growing stronger with each passing raid. What possible force could threaten them while they had their island?
The answer came from a cold wintery night, when shadows blacker then the night sky itself raced across the ocean. These shadows climbed the walls, consumed those who guarded its peak and spread out seeking others to feed upon. By morning, the proud and supposedly invincible slavers were nowhere to be seen. It was as if they had vanished from the world, and in a way, they did.
The only souls that were left untouched were those of the slaves themselves. Many were confused by their master's absence, but none the less, they celebrated their freedom. A celebration that ended when a white mare dressed in a cloak made from the darkest of silk appeared before them. The freed slaves now found themselves in a fate much worst then that of forced servitude; they were now food to a creature most foul.
However, the vampire told them that she eaten enough of the slavers and that she had no need for them. The slaves became confused for the second time; was this unholy creature serious, or was it trying to trick them? Trick or not, freedom was a desire that could not be easily ignored, and so the slaves left the fortress and its new mistress, but they still carry the story of how their masters were all consumed by a single vampire that night.
Tales became legends, and legends became myths, and myths like many things, faded into obscurity.
Octavia looked out the window of the fortress' northern most tower. She had been stuck within the walls for nearly three days, seeing neither hair nor hoof of her captor. She watched as the last rays of sunlight shined over the frozen waters before it disappeared and handed the sky over to the moon. For the thousandth time her thoughts turned to her father, and the deal he had broken with the vampire witch.
He had always told her that a lord's first duty was to watch over his people, but if that was true, then why would he ever even consider sacrificing one of them to a monster? Had he lied to her, or had he truly believed it but the pressure of war and the loss of her brother drove him to breaking his most sacred ideals. Whatever the case was, knowing that he promised the life of one of his own people to the vile creature wounded her deeper than any blade could.
When the sun had fully set, the young mare found herself standing in complete darkness but only for a few seconds. Suddenly, the candles in the room lit up casting light over the circular room. On her first night trapped here the act had amazed her, but now it just reminded her that she was now in a strange new world. The light from the candles caused her reflection to appear on the window's glass. She still looked the same, ever since the night she was taken. Her mane was still braided and she even wore the same emerald green dress, despite that her captor had left out cleaner garments for her to wear on her bed.
She didn't want to change her clothes. They were the only things she had that still tied her to her old life, and she would never be parted from them if she could help it. Such a thought would probably be laughable to her before, but now while she was here, in this fortress with no chance of escape and a vampire watching over her, she took whatever comfort she could.
Turning away from the window she marched over to her bed and fell on top of it, letting out a small gasp as she landed on the soft mattress. She closed her eyes, trying to escape the prison through her memories. Her thoughts took her back to when she was younger; when she between the age of a filly and a teenager, her brother would often take her on walks outside of the castle's walls. Even though they were followed closely by her father's personal guards, they were still free to play and explore to their heart's content. They both had fun adventures, often finding treasure or slaying fearsome trolls or whatever else their young minds could conjure up. But as they grew up, they spent less time having fun and more on learning how to become leaders for their own people.
Tears slowly fell from Octavia's closed eyes. Why did those days have to end? Why did the war have to start? Why did Autumn Note have to die? As the young mare laid there falling into her despair, she failed to notice her chamber's door opening or the cloaked pony stepping past its threshold. It was only when the mare loudly cleared her throat that her presence was known.
Octavia open her eyes to stare at the shadowy figure standing above her. To say that her sudden appearance in the prison both shocked and frightened Octavia would have been an understatement. None the less, she made no sound, no sign of the fear that was bubbling deep inside her soul. If the creature had finally come here to feast upon her, then she would at the very least die with some semblance of dignity.
The creature however, made no such movements. She simply stood there not two steps away watching her with a face that betrayed none of its owner's thoughts. Her bright red eyes stared into hers and Octavia fought against the chills that ran up her spine. How can eyes hold so much evil? The young mare thought as she kept her gaze square and true.
The vampire horn suddenly flared into life and for a few terrifying moments, she thought that it was her time to join her brother in the great beyond. Her fears were unfounded as a handkerchief was pulled out from the confines of the creature's cape. With surprising gentleness, the handkerchief slowly swept the tears away while Octavia tried to come to terms as to what was happening. Once it had completed its task, the handkerchief returned back behind the vampire's cloak.
"Come." she said in a tone that was neither a command nor a suggestion.
The grey mare lifted herself off the bed and followed her captor out of her room and down the flight of stairs. Her mind was still trying to piece together the strange act the monster had done to her. It had wiped away her tears as if she was a foal who had tripped and scraped its knee. She didn't know what to make of it. Was it an act of kindness or did the vampire queen felt pity for her? Was there compassion in the creature's heart or was it trying to lure her into some kind of trap? Either way, Octavia felt her head began to hurt as she tried to analyse her actions.
They had reach the bottom of the stairs now and Octavia couldn't help herself as she looked over the long hallway and the many treasures that lined its walls. Portraits of forgotten heroes and armour forged with the finest metals covered the walls as they moved further down the passage. Octavia eyes moved from one treasure to another, having never seen so much wealth in one place before. It was as if everything of even the smallest value had been gathered here for her to gawk at.
For a brief moment she had forgotten that she was being held hostage by a mare who she had thought only existed in nightmares and stories. She was instead walking in a museum like the famous one in Canterlot. She closed her eyes to allow the fantasy to come alive behind her closed eyelids. Her father was by her side, being the stallion she had known; strong, kind, and brave. He told her the history of the different relics and she was listening intently, not because she was interested in their history, but because she enjoyed hearing the passion in his words whenever he spoke of the past.
Her father had a fondness of history, whether it was their family's or their enemy's. He had the strong belief that in order to avoid their ancestor's mistake they had to learn everything about them, both their successes and their failures. The theory had some merit to it; however it did not stop House Sliverwind from suddenly declaring war against them and laying siege to their keep.
The joyful fantasy began to take a darker turn as she remembered hiding in her room with her handmaidens, fearing the moment when the walls crumbled and all became lost. That had been her greatest fear, but when one of the guards came to tell her that her brother had been killed in battle, that fear melted away into a pool of anger and despair. She never felt so much misery before that day. She wanted to hide away from the world and tear it apart for taking her brother away from her. After crying furiously, she prayed to the alicorns to avenge her brother's death; to wipe out the Sliverwind house and anypony who was associated with them. When the next day came and all of the Sliverwind's soldiers had disappeared, she had thought that her prayer was answered and she had felt so happy.
She felt happy that the stallions who had murdered her brother were dead. Stallions who might had have sisters of their own waiting for them back home.
Octavia's thoughts were suddenly thrown to the back of her mind when she collided with the vampire. Her eyes shot opened and her tongue became numb as it tried to make a quick apology. She expected the monster to lash out at her; to latch onto her throat and drink the blood from her veins until she was just a dry, empty husk. The white mare turned to look at her with an eyebrow raised in an inquisitive manner.
"Sor…sorry." Octavia managed to whimper out.
The vampire's lips split into a mirthful smile before she turns her attention away from the grey mare and onto the large wooden doors before them. Octavia was surprised they had reached their destination so quickly, but then again, she was lost in her own little world moments ago, so losing the track of time was a likely culprit. The white mare's horn lit up in a burst of red and the doors parted for them.
Behind them was a large dining room. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling casting its light like Celestia's holy sun. The table was so long that it could fit fifty, if not more, and the fire place on the right wall gave the room its heat that kept it warm, but never searing. Octavia was once again caught by surprise by the spectacle before her. Dawn Hope's dining hall was nothing compared to the majesty of this place.
She remained where she stood, lost in awe for the room, but was soon shattered by the vampire as she walked into the room and pulled out two chairs with her foul magic. She took the seat beside the chair at the end of the table and waited for her prisoner to join her, that same smile still on her face. The smile left a feeling of annoyance in Octavia's chest, but she didn't dare give it voice. Instead she moved into the dining room as quickly as possible while avoiding the creature's gaze. Once she took her seat she kept her head down, but she could still tell that the vampire eyes were still looking at her, watching her.
"What would you like to eat?" she asked, her voice holding a melody that sent chills down Octavia's spine.
Despite having heard the creature clearly, she didn't dare respond to her voice.
"I said; what would you like to eat?" she asked again.
"A honey and jam sandwich." Octavia managed to say.
No sooner than when those words left her lips, a large plate of honey and jam sandwiches appeared before her. Her stomach made an embarrassing rumbling sound the moment she saw the neatly stacked food. She hadn't eaten since lunch, and the fact that it was her favourite food being presented to her didn't help with the sudden hunger she was feeling. That being said, she did not make any move to grab at one of the slices of bread, not with the vampire sitting beside her with its bloody red eyes observing her.
"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked.
"I…I'm not hungry." Octavia lied as she tried to tear her eyes away from the sandwiches. It was then that fate decided to be cruel by causing her stomach to make the loudest rumbling sound it had ever made.
"Your stomach says otherwise." The white mare said with an amused smile.
Blushing profusely Octavia tried to regain what dignity she had remaining by staying firm in her decision to not eat the sandwiches. It was a simple and easy objective that required no strength from either body or mind; so why was it so hard for her not to look at those delicious looking sandwiches? The vampire must have realised what it was she was trying to achieve as its amused smile became larger and started to show the sharp fangs hidden beneath its lips.
"If you're worry about them being poisonous you have nothing to fear," The white mare said, "let me show you."
Octavia watched as the vampire grabbed one of the sandwiches off the plate and unceremonious took a large bite out of it. The red eyed mare chewed the food slowly while making an 'mmm' sound before finally swallowing.
"See, I just ate the food and I'm still alive. Now, eat before that belly of yours brings this old castle down upon our heads."
The young mare blushed as the creature mentioned her stomach's earlier protests. None the less, she kept herself pose and took one of the sandwiches off the plate. She examined it for a moment before taking a small nibble. Suddenly her eyes flew open as flavour exploded in her mouth; her stomach's growling became louder after the first bite almost as if it was demanding more of the delicious food. A demand she was more than happen to perform.
Abandoning years of dinner etiquettes her tutors had drilled into her since she was a foal; Octavia grabbed hooffuls of sandwiches and ate them like she had been starved for days. The vampire queen watched the young mare scoffed down her food, but she didn't care. In fact, she was barely even aware of her existent. It was only when the plate was empty of food that the grey mare remembered that she was not alone.
"Did you enjoy the sandwiches?" The creature asked.
"Umm, yes. They were… they were delicious, thank you." Octavia said tripping over her words as the reality of the situation returned.
"Would you like more?"
"N-no thank you, that was enough for me."
The vampire nodded as her horn lit up with power and the empty plate disappeared. After the plate was gone the white mare stood from her chair and had Octavia follow her once again through the treasure lined halls. Octavia thought that she was being led back to her room but the route they were taking felt longer and she didn't remember taking a flight of stairs down before. She became even more confused when they came across two wonderfully ornate doors with what appeared to be real gold running across its black wood. The gold made such breath-taking patterns against the black doors that Octavia wondered if the door had been made by some famous craftsmen.
But as beautiful as the doors were, she was still confused as to where exactly the vampire had led her.
"Where are we?" she asked in a small gentle voice.
The white vampire turned to her with that same amused smile she had been wearing all evening. "We're going to have a bath."
For a moment Octavia had thought she had misheard what the creature had said, but then the ornate doors opened to reveal a circular bathtub set into the white marble floor. Steam drifted off the still water of the bath like the morning mist she had experienced back home. It was large enough that ten ponies could sit comfortably side by side and deep enough that the water would come up to a pony's chest.
The fur of Octavia's face became pitch red; did the creature truly expect her to bathe in front of her? The mere thought of it sent her mind reeling and her hooves shaking. True, she had bathed with her handmaidens, but this was completely different. The thought of fleeing came to mind, to just turn around and run back to her small room atop the tower, far away from this creature and whatever depraved game she must be playing.
As the young mare was thinking of this, her host had already entered the bathing chamber, discarding her cloak which disappeared in a puff of black smoke when it touched the floor. The vampire queen now stood there naked with her pristine white fur, curvy form and her musical note cutie mark for all to see. Whatever plan of escape that Octavia had begun to organize was soon forgotten as her violet eyes fell on the perfect body before her.
If her cheeks were warm before, then they were now boiling. She had seen mares without their clothes before but none of her handmaidens had a body that was so…perfect. She quickly shook that thought from her mind, while same sex relationships were tolerated, it was mostly for the peasant who was not expected to continue a noble bloodline and besides, she wasn't even into mares. Once the indecent thought disappeared from her mind, she looked back at the vampire temptress though this time she kept her eyes locked on the red orbs that the creature called eyes.
"I'm not taking a bath with you." she said, trying to be defiant for the first time since she was taken.
"Oh," The white mare said, rising one of her eyebrows, "and why is that?"
"I don't trust you."
"Because I'm a vampire?" the red eyed fiend asked, "if I wanted to feed on you, don't you think I would have done so by now?"
"It's not that," Octavia muttered as the images of fangs and blood crossed her mind, "I just don't trust you in the bath."
The vampire queen looked generally confused for a second, but when she figured out what it was her captive feared she couldn't help grinning like a mad mare. "I see," she said as she took slow deliberate steps towards her prey, "you're afraid that I might…take your innocence."
Octavia stared at the naked monster as she slowly moved towards her. Her eyes darted from the creature's hungry red eyes to her curvy hips that were swaying with each movement. She felt her heart hammering against her chest with each step the vampire took. Her legs became weak and her mouth as dry as a desert. But such things were soon forgotten when the creature stood before her, so close that the grey mare could feel her minty breath wash over her.
She stared into the blood coloured eyes of the mare who had taken her away from her home, and couldn't help but tremble at the intensity that lies behind them. The vampire queen slowly leaned towards the mesmerized mare until her lips were almost touching the grey ears of her prisoner.
"You have nothing to fear little one," she whispered in a gentle tone, "unlike those nasty stallions of Sliverwind, I would never take something so precious from you. At least, not without your permission."
Then she left, leaving the young grey mare with a burning face and confusing thoughts. Octavia couldn't help watching her as she walked into the bathing chamber, her tail swishing to side to side in a scandalous act. Again, Octavia was left wondering about her captor's motives. Was this some kind of cruel game, was she taken from her home to be a plaything for the white mare or is she merely being toyed with before the vampire sinks her fangs into her?
She found neither of those possibilities appealing, but there was very little she could do. If the creature was toying, then she would soon grow hungry and would suck her dry of all the blood that flows through her veins, which would likely lead to her death. However, if she was to be her plaything, then perhaps she could entertain her long enough for her to find a way to escape.
"Hurry, little one. Even my patience has limits." The vampire's voice called out, bringing Octavia back to her current predicament.
"Uh… coming!" She said as she walked into the bathing chambers, making a mantel note to keep her distance from the unpredictable queen.