Cold Kisses

17. Lovely day

The fire was lit in the fireplace. She did not like it. It always made eerie shadows dance over his pale skin, making him almost one with the darkness in the room. She hugged herself, preparing for the wrath she knew was coming. 

He stepped into the office, letting the door close loudly behind him. She refrained from jumping from the sudden sound and forced herself to stand still. Oh, how she wanted to ran away right now, into the arms of her mother and hide. But she knew it would only make things worse. 

She kept her gaze on the floor as he stepped closer. Her tiny hands clenched, her nails pressing into her palms. Small crescent marks marred her skin, and she drew blood. She frantically prayed to the Goddess, begging for the Goddess to let her get out of this without getting harmed.

The man circled her, strolling slowly over the floor - painfully slow for her. The heel of his shoes clicked against the stone floor, sending shivers of fright down her spine. She could feel his burning glare and she held back a whimper. He took his time to walk around her, evoking more fear within her. 

Suddenly, his hand shot down towards her head and he stroked her hair. The strands glided through his fingers with ease. She let out the tiniest whimper at the gesture. He was, with no doubt, pissed. His fingers curled and his sharp nails scraped her scalp. He always kept them sharp and long, looking almost like claws. They cut her skin open, blood slowly leaving the tiny wounds before they healed. She sobbed - it hurt.

He walked past her this time, sitting down on his high chair in front of the fireplace. She shuddered at the sight of it. It reminded her of his throne, only this one was not as embellished and decorated as the throne. He sank down in the chair, his soulless eyes searching for hers. 

Those eyes - she had feared them for as long as she could remember. They were redder than a rose, darker than the blood running through a human's veins. Deep like the void and empty of any emotion other than rage. Those eyes made her skin crawl in fear. With those, he could look into your soul and crush you. One stare and you would find yourself whimpering on the floor, begging for mercy. 

But it wasn't the red ones that she feared the most, it was actually the green ones. They looked kind and gentle, sparkling a dazzling shade, but they were far from that. Green eyes haunted her nightmares every night. The way they lit up with coldness whenever he fed from the humans or punished his subordinates. They could gleam, those eyes, and nothing frightened her more. 

"You disobeyed me." 

His voice travelled across the room. It was colder than the ice covering the lake outside and deeper than the sea. She shrunk into herself, forcibly keeping her eyes open. His voice made her shudder, like the sound of someone dragging their nails down a chalkboard did. 

"You ignored your guardian."

She couldn't help but whimper in fear. Her body shook, her fingers shaking intensely  She knew she shouldn't have done it, but she wanted to keep her humanity within her. Though, a small part of her regretted it now, given the consequences she was about to face. She did not want to become like them, like him, but the truth was that she had no choice. 

"You went against my wishes," he snarled. "You went against your own King."

Her head craned and she bowed, her tiny body shaking more and more for every word he uttered. She was scared and he relished in it - he fed of fear, especially hers. 'Love' wasn't a word in his vocabulary, but if it was he would say that he loved watching her squirm in his presence.

"Look at me," he boomed. Frightened, she slowly raised her gaze and locked her wide eyes on him. "Was the instructions unclear?"

She gulped. "No, sir."