Dimitri was in awe. The woman in front of him is the most beautiful yet. Her skin was so fair that it looked like the petals of a flower that Dimitri only say in the forest when he was young. Her outfit matched her perfectly that she seemed to radiate as the lights fall on her face. Even though she was dressed and made up the same way the previous sacrifices were, and even if she just stood there at the entrance and stared at him, he can’t help but feel his beast blood boil.
Something about this woman is calling out to him at the primal level. It bellows within him. It is something that he has never felt before and something that he could never feel again. He tried to shake it off but he gets entranced every time he looks at the woman now standing before him. Dimitri knew then that something was going to happen, he is not sure yet, but it is bound to be something.
There was something off about the woman, though. All through the years, the women who were presented to him either stood there saying nothing, bowing meekly and waiting for him to devour them. While others stand there openly, full of smiles, and waiting for him to compliment their beauty. This girl just stared at him, no bowing her head, not smiling. She just stood there with a look of defiance in her eyes. He has found a challenge that he has never met since he was young. He wished to know her name immediately.
“What are you called?” Dimitri asked in a growling voice in an attempt to intimidate the woman and assert dominance. He has never asked for someone’s name before, at least not after that encounter when he was young. He has forgotten how to do it.
The woman just stood there, gazing. It was as if she never heard Dimitri’s question. Dimitri felt an unfamiliar feeling of distraught and irritation inside him. He looked towards the maid, and then the steward, both who merely looked towards the floor. They do not want to be asked about what the matter with the woman is; after all, it was also their first time seeing her.
“Did you not hear what I said?” Dimitri asked again, he is starting to feel irritated “I asked for your name!”
“Is there a need for you to know my name?” the woman replied with a question. “Aren’t you just going to turn me into a mindless slave like Jessica? Get on with it, then.”
Dimitri was taken aback. He has never gotten a response like this before. All his life he was revered and worshipped. Even the women who came before immediately respected him. But now this woman would even refuse to tell him her name. he wanted to speak but he cannot, the words swarm within his mind and he cannot say them as they come.
“What? Cat got your tongue?” The woman continued, “What do I do, then? Should I just lie there on the bad while you do your thing? Is that how this goes? When do you take my hypnotize me? Is it before or after you do what you are about to do?”
“You are not allowed to say whatever you want, woman!” Dimitri growled louder. He was already seething. It was the loudest that he has ever said something all his life. Even the maid and his steward were startled. “Don’t you know who I am?!”
“I assume you are the Lord of this castle?” the woman replied. “Quite obvious if you ask me. The servants here all bow down to you and they talk about you like you are some sort of a god. Looking at you, well, you could pass up as a cut above these creatures, but a god? Come on.”
“And you still dare to speak to me like that?!” Dimitri replied. He is more irritated that this woman seems to know who he is but refuses to bow down. “I could order you to be devoured by the creatures in this castle!”
“Then do so,” the woman calmly replied. She does not care anymore. She was betrayed and abandoned and there was no home that she could return to, “Do I have any choice? My life may be at your mercy right now, but I will refuse to submit to you, even if it kills me.”
“I see,” Dimitri replied and took a long pause. He seems to think about something. “So that is how you want to play it out. You will refuse to surrender to my will and submit to me. I will do everything I can to make you!”
The woman did not say anything, she just stood there smiling. It was her first smile as she entered the room but it did not please Dimitri. In fact, the smile irritated him even more. Because it was not actually a smile, her lips were curled and some of her pearl white teeth are showing, but it was more of a sneer. The woman is indirectly mocking him. Dimitri has never felt this irritated before. This is beyond irritating, he is seething. He wants to hit something but he could not dare to hit the woman.
Dimitri has no choice. He wants to get on with the ritual this night but he could not dare to look at the woman any longer. The woman invokes a lot of different emotions within him and he has been stirred quote as much. For the first time in his life, he has felt excited, awed, irritated and then enraged in one single night towards one single person. He has yet to know the name of the woman who has caused all this.
“Take her away from this place!” Dimitri ordered the maid, “Take her anywhere just don’t let me see her face while I decide her fate!”
“Understood, milord” The maid replied and escorted the woman out of the room. The room was slammed shut behind them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Amanda was shaking as they left the room. She did not plan to say those things but the moment she entered the room, something inside her suddenly snapped. Of course she has always refused to submit to the will of the men. The one of the reason why she has still yet to find a lover despite having a lot of suitors was because most of them would like her to settle down at home and not allow her to pursue her passions.
Amanda hates being caged and the irony of it all is that she is incarcerated right now in this huge cage of a castle. The hallways were long and the walls were high and Amanda is expecting some creature or another to pounce on them as they walked through the halls. She might be attacked and die, or be eaten and die. Either way she would die but she does not care about it that much anymore. She was just betrayed by the people that she trusted, the people in the village, and was sacrificed.
Amanda decided to get to the bottom of this. The reason why her father sent her to this place; is that man even her father in the first place? Are her friends in on this as well? What about Jessica? The woman who helped her take a bath earlier, or was it just someone who looked like Jessica?
“You should not have said that to the Lord, human child,” the Lamia maid’s voice pulled Amanda’s mind back into reality. They were already in front of a room with a closed door. “The Lord was furious. That was the first time that he was that furious. Even Alex was frightened. Oh, Alex is the man who was with the room with us, he is the Lord’s steward but he is much kinder.”
“Is he going to kill me now?” Amanda asked, her voice is still shaking but she is trying to hide her fear.
“I don’t think he will,” the Lamia maid replied, “He will decide what to do with you tonight. Expect for a call tomorrow morning. For now, you will retire in this room and await judgment.”
“Got it,” Amanda replied and looked as the door suddenly opened into a gaping darkness. “Is every room in this castle besides the Lord’s this dark?”
“Wait and see,” the maid replied and as she did, a sudden flash of bright light came awash. Amanda closed her eyes and covered it with her hand to shield the extreme brightness away.
She was awestruck; the room almost glittered and shimmered. The chandelier was full of shimmering orbs and crystals that reflected the light in all directions. The bed was made and covered with silken linen and the curtains were drawn to expose a glass door that leads to the porch – as if there was something worth looking at outside.
“The light was made by magic from the very first Demon King himself.” The Lamia Mad explained, “We have maintained this castle for 500 years to wait for the new Demon King.”
Amanda was silent, except for the fact that this was actually the castle were the infamous Demon King lived and was defeated 500 years ago, it would have been a pretty decent place to hang out with her friends; if they really were her friends and if she would not be reduced to someone like Jessica. All she could do for now is to try and get some sleep.
The sound of the slammed door echoed within the room and through the hallway. There was a long silence that follows and it lasted for what seemed like hours. Dimitri stood there in disbelief – he has never been this insulted before. He was never challenge in all his life and the first time he did, it was by a human girl no less. She was nothing but a sacrifice, abandoned and betrayed by her people, and yet she still had the guts to actually show that sort of attitude to Dimitri. He was fuming, he was frozen with rage.“Are you sure about that?” was a question that followed after the steward, Alex, cleared his throat to break the eternal silence.“Sure about what?” Dimitri asked, his mind still seems to be off somewhere; he is clearly yet to recover from that.“Are you sure about not doing the ritual tonight?” Alex continued, “I mean, I get that you are furious after what that woman did, but shouldn’t we conti
The new clan chief looked at his family longingly as his wife and newborn son are slumbering. It is still quite early but they went on a trip earlier and both of them were exhausted from the hiking and the running around. His smile was suddenly replaced by a frown after he realized that his family could be living in a better place. The human’s attack on their settlements when he was young still seems fresh in his memories.After knowing about the secret in the forest, the werebeasts were attacked and displaced by humans so that they can claim the source of power. The women and children were evacuated and the new clan leader, who was still a child back then, had no choice but to leave his father and the village that he grew up in. it was true for the other children as well. That night, every child in the village lost a parent to the humans.It was unfortunate, but at least their race lives on with them, the new generation. And so a new but smaller village was erec
Alex still could find comfort in Dmitri’s decision. After all, he has known the Demon King since they were children. He was practically Dimitri’s caretaker growing up. Especially after his mother succumbed to a curse that took almost half of their people – the exact same curse that they are trying to prevent by performing the blessing ritual every year. And Dimitri has decided to call the ritual off for a mere sacrifice. But if Alex is being honest, he does understand why Dimitri would feel that way; Dimitri is, after all, still a male and the new sacrifice is definitely attractive.Fearing for the future of their people, Alex went to the only place where he could find comfort and solace; the one chamber in the castle that is hardly visited by anyone, even the current Demon King – the Chamber of Dedication. It is a chamber far detached from the main keep, towards the back of the castle. At one look it could be mistaken for a shabby shed, but no one wou
Amanda is still quite a bit dazed as she followed the Lamia Maid who prepared last night through the winding halls of the keep. Just last night, she was order to stay inside her room and never to go out. Even her breakfast was brought to her earlier. It seems like the Lord of the place was too angry with her that he does not want to see her face any time soon.Then just shortly after lunch, she was startled when the door to her room suddenly swung open and it revealed the full figure of the Lamia maid.“Prepare yourself,” The Maid announced without even bothering to excuse herself. “You will be taken somewhere else.”Amanda silently complied. There wasn’t much to prepare anyway, so they went on their way as soon as she was mentally ready; except that she actually is not. She thought that her time was finally up, that the Lord of the castle has finally decided what to do with her, and by the looks of the halls that they are passing t
“What the hell are you doing here?” Dimitri’s face had a mix of shock and anger as he saw Amanda by the door. It was 3 in the morning and he is about to get some sleep after a long night, and suddenly his door opens to reveal this feisty woman, wearing nothing but her night gown.“Who the hell told you to come here?!” Dimitri asked without moving from where he was standing on.“I- I was-” Amanda looked for the right words to say. She started to feel the warmth on her face and her ears from the embarrassment, “The Maid told me that you asked for me! She even took me here!”“What maid? I don’t see anyone besides you,” Dimitri replied, looking behind Amanda and seeing nothing but an empty hall.“She left as soon as we arrived!” Amanda replies, realizing how she sounds and finally understanding why the Maid just left without announcing their arrival, she know something was of,
“Look, mom.” A seven-year-old Amanda held a flower up towards her mother. They were on their usual trip to the lakeside and her father has just begun to set up for fishing. Her mother sat on the blanket and looked at her. “What pretty flowers. Do you know what they’re called?” Amanda’s mother asked and then smiled. She would tell Amanda the names of the flowers that they find wherever they go. “Wait! I know this!” Amanda almost shrieked. She remembers her mother telling her the name of the flower, she just could not recall the exact word. She waves the bunch of small white flowers in front of her as if casting a spell with her magic wand. The white pappi of the flower flew into the air and spread, as if indicating that the spell was successfully cast, “Oh! Oh, I remember!” “Really?” Amanda’s mother asked, she felt kind of dizzy but she tries to hide it from Amanda. “What is that flower called, then?” “It’s a Dandy Lion!” Amanda
After Amanda cried herself to sleep that night she has never woken up as light-hearted. She is still in the darkroom, she can still smell the filth and hear the growls and moans of the beasts, and she is still under the mercy of that pompous Lord of the castle. But at least she now has a clearer mind. She was able to cry out all of her bitterness that night and she is not one to stay slumped after an episode like that. This is now time to do something, to make her move. The first order of business, learn about the ins and outs of the castle, the people that she could most likely befriend, and the people that she needs to look out to. On top of her list are the Steward and the Maid; they are most definitely on the Lord’s side. The Harpy is neutral, and she already knows that Jessica is already a hopeless case – or maybe not. Maybe there is still something that she can do about Jessica and all the other girls who came before her. The question is what and ho
The Harpy was practically humming while she cleaned the area. She already has a lot of things in mind to talk about with her human friend and she is starting to feel hungry. Lunch time is nigh. She needs to prepare their lunch so she has to go upstairs. Her friend should be back by now; they need to take a break.“Aren’t you going to take your lunch?” the shorter guard asked, he is the one who is more assertive of the two, “It is half past noon.”“Pretty human not back,” The Harpy replied, “I wait for her.”The Harpy started to worry. Maybe her friend is just having fun cleaning, like the way she is. Maybe she wants to finish cleaning the place before leaving. Maybe she will return. The Harpy waited and waited. The guards have already changed but she is yet to see her friend return. Images suddenly started to flash in his mind.She saw herself being grabbed by one of the Minotaurs. She tried to claw he