Tormented Mistress ( Book One )

Chapter 7

Amber let out a muffled groan as she was being shook. She blinked several times as her eyes came into focus, and once they did so, she found herself staring up at Luna.

She could not help but frown. She had been hoping this was all a simple dream and she'd wake up with her dad. 

Luna let go of Amber and leaned back. "Try not to look so happy."

Amber slowly sat up in the bed and stared down at her fingers before swallowing down more tears. She couldn't cry again. Luna already had found out how weak she was, plus, all this crying was giving her a terrible headache.

She felt the bed shift as Luna's weight pressed against it as she sat on the purple bed to join Amber.

Amber lifted her eyes to glance around the room to finally take it in. It was mostly purple, along with some black. The walls were black but the things that filled the room were mainly purple. It was a much smaller room than Luna's and was not completely filled. There was a simple bedside table, curtains, a bookshelf, a closet, a radio, and obviously a bed.

Luna must have been watching Amber looking around the room since she addressed it. "Do you like it? The servants spent too much time on it in my opinion."

Amber nodded slowly after a moment. What was that supposed to mean?

"I like it," she noted quietly, but truthfully.

"The only problem is there's no bathroom," Luna frowned as she, too, examined the room. "There's one just to the right of your room, though, so you should be alright."

Amber felt the tears coming back...if they ever even left. She was really staying here. With all these vampires!

"Can you tell me why I'm here?" Amber asked, keeping her head facing away from Luna. She was nervous to ask her this, as the woman seemed to have very little patience.

Luna sighed softly. "I suppose you at least deserve an explanation."

Amber brought her gaze back to Luna hopefully.

"Yes, well..." Luna seemed to search for the right words as she took quite a long pause. Amber hoped this did not mean she was conjuring up some lie to tell.

"Your family, Amber...well, let's just be straightforward about this. Your family is a disaster." Luna clicked her tongue and nodded. "A complicated disaster."

Amber raised her eyebrows as she did not know what to say in response. Was that an insult?

Luna only stared into Amber as if she were suppose to say something, so after a moment, she did. "How? I think...well, thought, it was pretty darn normal."

Luna let out a cool laugh at this. "No, no, dear. You don't know half of the story."

Amber frowned. Who was this girl anyways? What did she have to do with Amber or her family?

"Your parents caused a big feud in the vampire race," Luna told her simply.

As seeing she was not going to continue, Amber spoke up. "Um...Neither are even vampires."

Luna's eyes seemed to flash a dark red before quickly returning back to pink. "Oh God...He did not even tell you?"

Amber tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Tell me...?"

"Well." Luna clapped her hands. "Your father is a vampire, Amber."

Amber's eyes grew wide. "He's..." He couldn't be! It just did not make sense! If he were, that would mean that so was Amber's mother which would mean that Amber was one as well. 

Amber could not help but laugh. "That's ludicrous!"

Luna frowned once more. "I'm sorry they never told you anything."

This infuriated Amber, and even though she already knew better than to raise her voice at this woman, she could not control herself. 

"Listen here, lady! You don't know my family and they don't know you. I have no clue who the hell you think you are, but you need to get out of my family's business!" Amber hopped from the bed. "I'm sick of this! It's my fucking birthday and everything has been taken from me. And you...bitch, don't know anything!"

Amber was only halfway through with her ranting when she was cut off by Luna standing and slapping her across the face. 

Amber yelped and her eyes stung with tears at the pain. She slowly turned her head back around to face Luna. The woman's eyes were now a deep red and they dug into Amber's. 

They stood there for a moment staring at each other. Amber had multiple temptations to look away, but she had to keep going. She would not let this girl win.

The woman finally spoke through clenched teeth. "Sit. Down."

Amber hesitated but reluctantly headed back to the bed and sat on its edge, her eyes never leaving Luna.

She watched as Luna approached her and stopped right before her; towering over Amber like a high building. 

"Since you are incapable of having a mature and adult-like conversation, I suppose I will cut the bullshit and get straight to my point."

Amber dug her fingernails into the bedspread in anger.

"I am now your stepmother. By tomorrow it will be official. And since you are being so rude to me, I think it is only fair to treat you more as a slave than a child until you prove your maturity." 

Luna was going to continue, but Amber cut her off yet again. "Hell no! I am not about-"

She was silenced by a finger being pressed against her lips. "Quiet."

Amber held back the temptation to bite the woman's finger off. This was ridiculous! She could not just own Amber like this. And she would need all the hope in the world to get Amber to listen to her.

Amber then silently cursed at herself. She already was doing what Luna said. But she could not fight her, this girl would always win.

She tried to think positive and was about to stand up to her, when Luna spoke first.

"So," she continued; her finger still pressed against Amber's lips in attempt to keep her quiet. "you will do as I say, and refer to me as 'mistress.' And do one more action against  me, and you should find yourself to have no more ownership of this room. You'll be degraded to living in a room as big as the bed you sit on."

Amber glared furiously at the woman as she swallowed down all the terrible things she had to say. She couldn't though. At this point she did not seem to have any other choice. She wasn't leaving this woman.

"Understood?"

Amber slowly nodded as her eyes filled with angry tears. Luna lifted her finger off Amber's dry lips and abruptly left the room. 

That is when Amber lost it. She flung herself to the bed and threw a temper tantrum. She couldn't help it! At this point, she didn't care if she were fourty years old...she was furious.

She screamed into the pillow and beat the bed with her fists. This wasn't fair. Nothing about this was right.

Amber slowly began to calm down as she thought of what her father had said. 'Just one year.' Maybe less. 

Amber sighed. She could do it. How bad could one year with this woman be?