The Lost Princess

EVERLY

“Wake up, scum!”

My eyes snap open as the violent crack of a whip snaps through the air. A girl cries out and sobs as others try to fearfully shush her.

“On your feet!” I flinch as another whip cracks through the air. I scramble to my feet as looming men in dark cloaks yell at the other girls to do the same.

I blink, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. Some torches hang on the walls. The dim light sends long, ominous shadows dancing around the room. Where am I? What happened to me?

I’m in a cold, concrete room with a dozen other girls. I look to the others beside me for answers, but they all look just as scared and confused as I feel. We all huddle together at the center of the room, shaking in fear.

“What are they going to do to us?” a girl beside me whispers. She doesn’t get a reply. I don’t know. None of us do.

I have to bite my lip to keep from sobbing. I never thought I’d miss Aunt Tessa.

I blink.

Where was Aunt Tessa? I try to remember what happened, but for some reason my memory is fuzzy. All I remember is Aunt Tessa taking me to an attractive man with eyes that glowed red, and…

A wooden door suddenly bursts open, and in walks a lady I’ve never seen before. Her high heels echo in the fearful silence. She looks like a supermodel, but instead of a runway, she struts down a bloodstained dungeon floor.

“My name is Victoria Dupont, but you will call me Mistress,” she says. She smiles but it comes across as frightening rather than welcoming. “Welcome to your new home.”

I look around at the dark dungeon around me. I see old rusty chains and restraints on the walls. I see old, dried blood on the floor. How was this supposed to be home?

“I will be teaching you how to serve your new masters. If you are docile, you will be treated well. You will be fed, clothed, and sheltered. If you misbehave—”

“You can’t be serious!” A girl yells out. “You kidnapped us! Dragged us to some dirty basement! Do you really expect us to listen to you?”

If I thought Mistress Dupont was scary before, now she was downright terrifying. Her expression turned murderous…monstrous. She almost didn’t look human in the flickering firelight.

She snapped her fingers and immediately two hooded men walked forward, placed a black bag over the head of the girl who had spoken up, and dragged her kicking and screaming into another room. The heavy wooden door closed with an ominous thud.

Mistress Dupont turned back to us, smiling that eerie smile. “If you misbehave, you will be disciplined.”

We could barely hear the muted screams of the girl who was dragged away.

“Keep each other in line,” she went on. “You’re all sisters now.” She snapped her fingers and a different set of heavy wooden doors opened. A dark red light filled the room, revealing stairs that ascended to an upper floor. The steady thud of deep bass music filtered down towards us.

“Get moving, girls,” Mistress Dupont says. “I will never tell you to do anything twice.”

The girl next to me held my hand. Hers was clammy with sweat.

Normally I didn’t like touching strangers. I barely got out of the house, as Aunt Tessa rarely let me go outside.

But now I didn't mind. It was almost comforting to hold this girl’s hand. No matter what happens next, we were in it together. I gave her hand an encouraging squeeze.

The image of the other girl being dragged away fresh in our minds, we stepped forward into the crimson light.

We climbed the stairs one terrifying step at a time. I didn’t know what to expect. A torture chamber? A medieval horror house? Were they going to feed us to lions, or crocodiles, or some kind of monster for their entertainment?

But as we got further up, the steps slowly turned from ancient stone to burnished hardwood. Our surroundings transformed from evil torture castle to…a high-end nightclub.

We all stood there, dumbfounded as we took in the scene before us.

***

The place is huge. There are multiple floors that ring around the main dance floor. Strobing lights and thumping bass overwhelm me. I see exotic acrobats twirling in the air, hanging down from the ceiling with ropes of crimson silk. A massive stage with a DJ and half-naked men and women dominates the space.

And the number of people here…

An ocean of bodies writhe to the music, winding and grinding with reckless abandon. The air is thick with laughter, moans, and sweat.

My head begins to spin, and I suddenly feel nauseous. The last few years of my life, my world was my tiny room. The most I saw of the outside world was whenever I snuck watching some TV when Aunt Tessa was out of the house.

The ground tips underneath my feet, but the girl beside me steadies me.

“Easy there,” she says into my ear. She smiles at me and I can tell we’re taking comfort in each other. Maybe I can find a friend in all this craziness.

“Thank you,” I mumble, but I doubt she hears me over the music.

Suddenly we’re crowded by a group of people, their bodies pressed against us. I’m separated from my friend as this new group squeezes in. They’re all beautiful.

A man brushes against me, a seductive smile on his face. He takes my hand and runs it along his chiseled abs. Another one comes up behind me, pressing himself into my backside.

“What have we here?” he murmurs into my ear. A shiver of heat runs through me.

The man in front of me squeezes closer, and I’m sandwiched between two half-naked, very attractive men.

“Fresh blood,” the one in front says.

I don’t know what to do. Adrenaline courses through my veins, and I don’t know if I’m terrified or excited. Was I allowed to push them away? I’m caught up in the moment as they sway my body to the music.

“Relax, beautiful,” the man whispers into my ear. “That’s it…” They both bend down to the nape of my neck, and I feel a flash of panic as I feel something sharp against my skin.

Are they going to—

“Enough!” The two men immediately back away as Mistress Dupont walks up to us. “They’re not ready yet. Leave.”

A look of annoyance flashes on their faces, but they step away and melt back into the crowd. Mistress Dupont looks around and does a quick headcount. “Looks like we already lost some.”

I panic as I look around and notice a few girls have disappeared into the crowd. I look for my friend, and a wave of relief washes through me as I see her. She hurries next to me and grabs my hand. I feel just a little safer.

“Follow me,” Mistress Dupont says. “Stay close, or you’ll be snatched.”

We quickly follow her through the crowd. The dancing bodies part before her, and we try our best to keep up. She leads us to the back of the club. We pass the two massive guards and walk into the back rooms.

It’s much quieter here. Private rooms with exclusive performances line the rooms on either side of the hallway. I can’t resist peeking through the velvet curtains as we pass.

Women are winding around poles, caressing each other on beds. I blush as gasps and moans dance in the air around me. I see a girl on her knees before a man, his fist tangled in her hair.

And I see one with his lips at a woman’s neck, eyes as red as blood staring right at me.

A shiver of fear runs down my spine as I quickly walk past that room. I wish I hadn’t looked.

Is that why we’re here? To be toys for these men?

“Ouch,” my friend says. She looks down at our hands, and I realize I’m squeezing way too tightly.

“Sorry,” I mumble. I try to let go, embarrassed, but she holds on. She smiles reassuringly.

“I’m Sophia, by the way,” she says.

“I’m Everly.”

“Quiet,” Mistress Dupont says without turning. “You will only speak when spoken to. I won’t warn you again.”

Sophia and I go quiet, but we share a small smile together.

We continue on, veiled scenes of lewdness and intimacy passing us by until finally we reach a dark red curtain at the end of the hall.

“Everyone through,” Mistress Dupont says. The girls begin to file through the curtain, but she stops me when it’s my turn. “Except for you,” she says. She gestures towards an empty room to the side. A similar room to all the ones we’d just passed on the way here.

I can’t help but look at Sophia, and the fear in her eyes mirrors my own.

“W-why?” I ask.

Mistress Dupont leans down so her face is right in front of mine. If looks could kill, I’d be dead on the floor.

“You will do as you are told without question. Now go, before I lose my patience.”

I let go of Sophia’s hand, and she tries to give me an encouraging nod before she disappears through the curtain with the other girls. But I know she’s thinking the same thing I am.

What if we never see each other again?

I try to keep the tears in my eyes as I walk into the empty room. Mistress Dupont closes the curtains behind me so I’m alone. None of this is fair. Not only was I kidnapped, but I was given, no, sold ~by my aunt to them! And now I wasn’t even allowed to have a friend.~

The room is all silk and velvet. There’s a small stage with a metal stripper pole on it. A plush bed and leather couches are off to one side. There’s even a bathroom with a shower in the corner.

The image of the girl kneeling in front of the man flashes through my mind, and I feel sick. I didn’t want to do that, ~no matter how much Mistress Dupont threatens me.~

I sit down on the couch, my heart beating wildly in my chest.

Who’s going to walk through those curtains? What will they do to me?

I don’t have to wait long.

A man with slicked back raven-dark hair walks in. His skin is deathly pale, and his tall, athletic body is clothed perfectly in the suit he’s wearing. Dark grey eyes stare out at me from his handsome face.

It’s the guy that my aunt sold me to.

“That’s right,” he says. “I’m glad you recognize me.”

Crap, I forgot that he could read my mind. I need to get used to that.

“You can try, sweetheart,” he says, a dark smile on his face. He walks up to me and sits uncomfortably close to me on the couch.

I try to move away from him, but he places a powerful arm around my waist and pulls me closer. His cologne smells good.

“You’ve got a lot of questions buzzing around that pretty little head of yours,” he says.

“Will you answer any of them?” I ask.

“Maybe,” he smirks.

“Who are you?” I ask.

“You can call me Master Lacroix,” he says.

I try to think if I recognize the name or not. Maybe it will give me a hint of where I am, or how I can get out of here.

“Very clever, but you’ll never leave this place.” His gaze looks right through me, reading my thoughts. “Don’t even try.”

I decide to move on. There’s not much I can do right now.

“What is this place?” I ask instead.

“This is part of the kingdom I’ve built,” he says, pride in his voice. “I call it the Blood Bank. One of the most popular service establishments in the world.”

“What kind of services?”

His arm tightens around my waist. “I’m sure you already know.”

“Is that why you bought me? All those girls? To make us service these creeps?” I don’t know where this bravery comes from. I usually never talk back, not even to my Aunt Tessa. But seeing how scared Sophia and all those girls were, imagining them being forced to pleasure random people~…~

“There’s one thing you will come to understand,” he says. “I am your master. I bought you. I own ~you. ~And what I say, you do. Whether you want to or not.” His eyes suddenly glow an ominous red. “Go and lie down on the bed.”

I feel a strange tingling sensation in the back of my mind. I frown at him, trying to squirm away from his hold.

“Why?” I ask. “What are you going to do to me?”

For the first time his composure of ultimate confidence cracks. There’s a brief flash of confusion before he masks it.

“You can’t be compelled?” he asks more to himself than to me. “Interesting…”

“Compelled? What are you talking about?”

He leans into me, his weight forcing me down on my back. He pins me in between his arms as he lies on top of me on the couch.

My heart thunders erratically in my chest as I look up at him. I hate how attractive he looks, even in this messed up situation.

“I usually don’t indulge in my own stock, but this time I can’t resist.” He leans down and brushes his lips against my neck. A shiver of pleasure runs through me.

“Be a good girl and you’ll be treated like a princess,” he whispers. “Be a bad girl and I’ll punish you myself. Do you understand?”

I don’t trust myself to speak, so I only nod.

“Good,” he murmurs against my skin. I feel his teeth against my neck suddenly sharpen. A swift pinch of pain, followed by radiating pleasure, floods my senses as he bites me.

I gasp as he drinks me in, my body squirming in ecstasy underneath him.

Am I actually enjoying this?

He leans back, a trail of crimson leaking from the corner of his lips. His eyes glow a bright red. “Delicious.”

There’s only one word on my mind.

Vampire.

I feel myself begin to pass out, the stress and loss of blood too much for me to handle. My vision goes black, and the last thing I see are his glowing red eyes and the smile on his lips.

“Welcome home, Everly.”