CRIMSON RUIN

The scent of incense clung to the air, filling the room with a thick and oppressive ambience.

Crystal stirred when the feeling of her body aching as if she had been wrung dry became evident.

Her mind sluggishly waded through the lingering haze of sleep unsteadily,

Something was wrong.

Too quiet.

It was too quiet.

The sheets beneath her seemed to be colder and untouched,

The dim candlelight flickering against the stone walls, stretched long as restless shadows crossed the lavish chamber.

Her breath caught as she realized.

The presence she had grown so attuned to; the one she had warred with, feared, and hated was gone.

Saint was gone.

She couldn't feel him anymore.

Her pulse pounded in her ears as she sat up abruptly.

For two days, he had loomed over her whilst suffocating her with his presence and a will so strong that it felt like an unshakable force pressing down on her.

Now, with him gone, the silence he had left behind rang louder than any of his torment.

And her fingers curled against the sheets as she panicked.

This was what she had wanted. She had spat the words at him, torn them from her throat like a blade meant to wound,

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND, SAINT? I DONT WANT TO EVER SEE YOUR GODS-FORSAKEN FACE AGAIN"

She shivered as her words rang in her own head.

And he had listened.

She couldn't believe someone like him would respect her wishes, especially after everything he'd done and a thin and bitter laugh almost broke from her lips at the irony.

"Who would've thought?" She whispered to herself in a weak sad voice before a sharp pang of pain strangled her stomach.

She wanted him to leave,

She meant it when she said it,

She hated him and she didn't want to ever see his face again,

If this was the truth, then why did it feel like something had been ripped out of her?

She pushed the thought aside and swung her legs over the bed with the last bit of strength she had left.

The hunger that tormented her remained a dull, persistent ache that she did well to ignore.

If Saint was truly gone, she needed to know what that meant for her.

She finally noticed the maid standing by the door, hands folded neatly with an impassive look on her face.

She wasn't the jumpy human from yesterday.

This was a vampire.

Crystal straightened as she took a deep breath, locking her eyes with the red ones of the woman.

"I want to see Saint."

The maid dipped her head slightly but did not move from where she stood.

"His Majesty is not in the castle, my lady." She informed her.

"What?" Crystal frowned,

She hadn't expected him to just leave her alone in the imposing castle.

When she had rold him to leave, she meant her room, not the freaking palace!

"He has left." The maid explained further.

Left.

The word echoed through her, hollow but sharp enough to do it's needed damage.

"That's not possible," she said as she shook her head. "He wouldn't just..." Crystal panicked as she realized she was in a castle full of vampires she didn't know or trust.

"His Majesty departed early this morning. He is attending to matters of the kingdom." The maid stated as she remained calm and composed.

Crystal's hands folded into fists as her body visibly trembled at the news.

This wasn't real.

This wasn't right.

He wouldn't just leave without a word.

Not after everything.

A confusing heat rose in her chest as a sudden frustration overwhelmed her thoughts.

She needed to find him.

And without thinking through twice, she strode toward the door.

"My lady-" The maid called out as Crystal walked past her hurriedly, although she didn't make a move to follow her.

The maid's voice barely reached her ears as she yanked the door open and stormed into the dim corridor.

The palace corridors stretched endlessly in both directions, thick with the scent of wax and old stone.

The halls were empty save for the two guards stationed outside the large door to the room the King was in yesterday.

They were different from the ones that roughed her up the day before and a hesitant fear flickered through their red pupils as they saw her stomp towards them.

She moved forward, but one of them immediately blocked her path gently.

"My lady, you are not permitted to leave your chambers."

Crystal's jaw tightened with indignance as she growled. "Move."

The guard didn't so much as blink but it was obvious that he was trying to handle this situation as carefully and delicately as he could.

Anger burned in her throat.

She tried to sidestep, but the second guard shifted, cutting her off.

"I need to see him," she bit out angrily. "Now."

The second guard's face remained impassive as he stated the information like a royal decree. "His Majesty has left the castle."

"I know that," she snapped. "Just tell me where he is."

The only thing the guards had to offer her was silence.

Something inside her cracked.

She had been stolen from her home, turned into something unnatural, and trapped in a life she never would have chosen.

Now, she was being locked away like some forgotten thing?

And being deprived of mere words and information?

No.

She wouldn't stand for it, so she moved without thinking.

Twisting sharply, she tried to sidestep and run past them but callous hands caught her arms.

She felt the sharp tug as silken ropes coiled around her wrists, biting deep as they pulled her back.

It hurt but it wasn't as painful as the ropes of yesterday.

It felt as though they had run out of patience and these restraints were specifically crafted for her.

They were enough to restrict her movements and ensure she wasn't bruised and wouldn't feel pain.

"Let me go!" she shrieked and she tried to hit and scratch out their eyes during the struggle,

The guards didn't falter as she kicked around wildly, rather, they maneuvered her with ease, dragging her back toward the chamber.

She dug her heels into the hard ground as the door to her room loomed ahead, dark and unyielding.

"No!" she gasped, panic clawing at her ribs as she managed to halt them for a few seconds before the one on the right lifted her up with ease and onto his shoulders.

She tried to trip him as they passed through the threshold but her shoulder slammed into the frame of the door as he regained his footing and forced her inside.

The heavy door swung shut behind her and Crystal stumbled to the ground, breathless as her limbs trembled with fury.

An uncomfortable silence pressed in from all sides as she screwed her eyes shut, wincing from the pulsing pain in her shoulder.

Saint had left.

Only because she had told him to.

And now, she was truly and utterly alone.

She remained tied up on the floor as time passed in slow, agonizing stretches and loneliness warped around her like a soft woven kilt.

She sat on the edge of the bedpost as hunger continued to torture her mercilessly.

A silver tray sat untouched beside her, from which the scent of blood hung in the air as a thick metallic cloud, curling at the edges of her resolve.

Her body shook at its presence, instincts screaming at her to drink, obey, and survive.

"My lady," came a quiet voice. "You must eat."

Crystal didn't move at the suddenness of her appearance.

There was a short pause which was followed by soft footsteps. The maid lifted the goblet carefully. "You grow weaker. Your body-"

"I don't need that." Her voice was hoarse, but sharp.

The maid hesitated before setting the goblet down on the table beside the bed. "Please, my lady." She whispered as she tried to plead with her.

"I said no." Crystal said sternly, leaving no room for negotiations.

Then there was a long beat of silence.

The vampire bowed, "If you insist, I shall return later."

"Don't" Crystal whispered.

"Very well" she answered with a nod before the door clicked shut.

Crystal barely heard or saw anything anymore as every pang of hunger was stronger than the last, an unbearable craving that ate her from the inside out.

Her body was betraying her,

It wasn't just starvation, it was an inevitable force.

A monster's need.

And she was losing against it.

No matter how much her body begged and ached to drink,

She wouldn't.

"I would rather die."

But as she whispered that assurance to herself, it suddenly occurred to her that she was an immortal.

So, Crystal wept.