petals of blood

Chapter 1

Eloise

...It ravages my soul within...

In the blink of an eye, his fingers ensnared my neck, hoisting me from the ground with a merciless grip.

It came upon me so abruptly, leaving me disoriented and paralyzed. I was immobilized, unable to move or draw breath, my gaze fixed upon the sanguine eyes of a vampire.

"Such a delicate little morsel..."

His grasp tightened around my throat. A surge of adrenaline jolted me back to reality, igniting a frenzied struggle. I screamed, clawing at his frigid flesh with desperate fury, seeking retribution.

My screams echoed, each kick and thrash futile against his immense strength. He offered a sinister smirk, baring menacing fangs. To them, I was naught but a tantalizing snack, a spirited morsel.

My futile resistance persisted until exhaustion overcame me, my feeble efforts rendered ineffectual by the lack of air. All seemed lost.

Even in my languished state, my gaze remained fixed upon him. He returned the gaze.

"It would be a waste to simply feast upon you. You, little rogue, shall accompany me."

With those chilling words, he fastened a cold, iron collar around my bruised neck, a symbol of my captivity. Like a ragdoll, I was tossed to the ground, tethered by a heavy chain, dragged along in his wake.

Whimpers and cries escaped me as the abrasive leash chafed against my delicate skin, inflicting torment with each step.

We emerged from the shadowed confines of the temple into the harsh glare of daylight. Casting a final glance at my former home, I resigned myself to the grim realization that life as I knew it was forever altered, my loved ones slaughtered before my very eyes.

Mounted upon their steeds, I was bound to one belonging to the very man who had snuffed out my father's life.

The journey stretched on for days, devoid of sustenance or respite. My stomach gnawed with hunger, my legs weakened by ceaseless exertion.

The Domineers, as the rogues called themselves, reveled in their plunder, sustaining themselves on the blood of my kin, prolonging their depraved feast.

At my tender age, it defied belief that I alone remained among the living, haunted by spectral echoes of those they had ruthlessly slain.

A peculiar affliction befell me, a manifestation of profound trauma. My once honeyed locks turned ashen white, mirroring the pallor of my soul. Ignorant of the toll upon my flesh, I stumbled forward, battered and bruised by the unforgiving terrain.

Days waned, nights ebbed, until at last, the relentless march came to an abrupt halt.

Collapsed upon the unforgiving earth, on the precipice of unconsciousness, I dared to entertain the fleeting hope that the ordeal had reached its bitter conclusion.

Yet, before my weary mind could grasp the truth, a frigid deluge engulfed me, chilling me to the bone. Who could be so callous as to subject a child to such torment amidst the chill of autumn?

Through trembling limbs, I glimpsed a towering figure, a willowy specter, her gaze laced with cruel amusement. Beside her stood a lackey, bearing a vessel brimming with icy torment.

As evening's chill seized me, clad in naught but threadbare rags and tattered garments, I shivered uncontrollably, a prisoner to the elements.

The crimson-eyed fiend exchanged pleasantries with the heartless matron, sealing my fate with the exchange of coin. With a disdainful sneer, she relinquished the iron collar, adorned with blisters and bruises, replacing it with leather restraint.

With a flourish of his hat, the fiend departed, leaving me in the clutches of the callous woman, who hissed her displeasure as she yanked upon the tether.

"A mere pittance for such a scrawny wretch! Ten gold coins wasted!"

In a fit of pique, she thrust the leash into the hands of her lackeys, dragging me into the looming edifice that awaited, its imposing visage a harbinger of dread.

Within its labyrinthine confines, I beheld a world unlike any I had known, a realm of shadows and despair, where captives were reduced to chattel, stripped of dignity and agency.

The towering walls, fortified with iron spikes, stood as a bastion against escape, imprisoning those within its grim embrace.

As I was ushered deeper into the bowels of the structure, the tiled floors proved treacherous, slick with moisture and my own waning strength.

With each stumble, the lash of the vixen's whip rained upon my flesh, rending skin and spirit alike. I cried out in agony, a child of seven, robbed of innocence and solace.

The relentless assault left me lacerated and broken, yet not a tear graced my cheeks, my resolve unyielding in the face of cruelty.

Infuriated by my stoicism, the vile mistress redoubled her efforts, her venomous tongue spewing curses as she dragged me forward.

Through a yawning portal, descending into darkness, I clutched the tattered remnants of my attire, apprehension gripping me in its icy embrace.

Abruptly, our procession halted, the willowy matron fumbling for a ponderous key amidst a ring of many.

With a heavy clang, the iron door swung open, ushering us into a realm of suffocating silence.

A sense of foreboding washed over me as we crossed the threshold, the oppressive stillness a portent of unspeakable horrors to come.

"Such feeble creatures," she muttered with disdain.

Her minions secured me within the chamber, the iron collar fastened to the wall, a cruel reminder of my captivity.

With a final sneer, she departed, sealing the door behind her, leaving me to confront the gaunt faces that surrounded me, fellow captives bound by shared suffering.

Their eyes met mine, weary and resigned, their whispered words a testament to the cruelty of fate.

"Such a frail young soul..."