Drowning In Dark

She stared out the window to look at the stars. It felt so good to feel the breeze on her skin. She wondered how long she had to enjoy it.

He would soon be back and her little happiness would fade. Six months of anguish and abuse. Six months of pain, Six months of being treated like an animal. She looked down at her body in shame.

Scars. All over. She didn't even want to talk about her face. It had the ugliest of them all. He had done that to her with a dagger cause she tried to defy him. Some days, she subjected to the torture of angry wolves. Other times, he would do it himself.

Sometimes, she prayed she would die and escape it all like when he almost drowned her for talking back at his Luna. She could run away but that would cost her mother's life.

Her mother. She chuckled at the thought. The reason she was stuck here. She just had to steal from him. Why couldn't she go somewhere else? Someplace safer?. Somewhere she wouldn't be caught.

She didn't even know if the woman she was suffering for was still alive. He said she was but he could be lying. After all, he took her against her will and used her whenever he felt like.

He had a wife. A Luna. Yet she was stuck with satisfying his hunger. It's been six months already and she was yet to set eyes on her mother. The door opened and she scurried away from the window.

He walked in with his usual confident smile and all she could do was lower her gaze. It was a serious crime to look the king in the face. A rule she found ridiculous. What was so special about that face of his? He was the least attractive man on her list.

He walked over to her and lifted her face to meet his. He liked the hatred he saw each time he stared into her fierce eyes.

"Katarina" He called softly.

"Your highness" She replied with undisguised spite.

"Why are you still dressed?" He asked huskily.

"I..didn't think think you would....Actually I was just taking it off" She said quickly letting the robe fall. He smiled and walked away from her. His champagne was always on the table. She made sure of it.

Last time she forgot, he had her whipped and starved for days. SHe watched him pop it and serve himself.

"Your mother's judgement is tonight. I want you to look your best" He said sipping his drink. Her mother?. She almost jumped in joy. Her patience was finally going to pay off. He was going to keep his promise.

"I will do just that. Should I go now or...."

"You know I've always loved that look in your eyes each time I come close to you. Tonight, I feel it's gonna be my favourite. I'll let you get dressed but you have just ten minutes" He said before ,exiting.

She didn't give his words another thought. She was happy she would finally see her mother. Happy they could finally go home. Proud she had resisted the thought to poison him most times.

She quickly dressed and ran out to meet him. She met with one of his guards instead.

"Come with me" He said coldly and walked ahead without bothering to look if she was following him. She didn't mind though. She wasn't going to let anything ruin her happiness. Or so she thought until she entered the courtroom and realised how wrong she was.

Her mother was in the center on the room with chains binding her hands and feet. She starednin disbelief at the woman who was supposed to her mother. She looked worn out and haggard. She was still in the clothes she wore the day she stole and her skin, tatted with bruises and scars and dirt.

She couldn't even stand properly and her once charming blue eyes were blood shot and swollen. She couldn't even blink. What tortured has she been going through to make her look this terrible?.

Tears strolled down her cheeks as her mother moved her head slowly to look at her. The raw pain she saw in those eyes broke her. What huge thing had she stolen that they had to batter her this way?. She was so sure even death would have been more merciful.

Her eyes traI led up to the king who wore a smug smile. The true meaning of his words registered at that moment. He had kept his word long enough to watch her hurt. He wanted to see the pain in those eyes. Not hate. Pain. He had gotten his wish but she was afraid he was done yet.

"There's no need for protocols since we already know the punishment thieves and trespassers. Not just any thief but one with guts to steal from the King" He said and her heart raced. He couldn't do this to her. Not after enslaving her for months.

"Except anyone feels she deserves to be heard" He added and she glanced around. No one spoke. No one even wore pity. They stared with pure hate and she couldn't fathom why.

"She doesn't deserve anything. No human does on our land. Not even that pathetic daughter of hers" Someone spat and conniption gripped her.

"Why should we harbour humans after what they did to us? Our park's might but we can't" Another supported.

"And a thief at that. Both mother and child should be hanged. Theft obviously runsin their veins" Another said. Tears rolled down her cheeks There and then she realised this was more than theft.

Ofcourse she stole most of the times but it was mostly for survival but this people had something more against humans. She was still dealing with the fact that she was living with non-humans and now they hated humans too?. She was doomed.

"Behead both of them" A fierce voice yelled.

"Hang them" Another angry voice sounded. Soon they were chanting. She slowly retraced her steps in fear.

"Silence!" He thundered and everywhere quieted down. His eyes rested on her as he continued to speak.

"Having heard it all, I can't go against your wish" He said and her heart jumped to her throat. He was going to kill them. He broke his part of the deal. He broke it all.

"They shall both be hanged" He concluded.

"Cheater! Liar! You broke your promise. You went back on your promise" She roared and all eyes turned to her.

"I hate you. I hate all of you. You will pay I will make sure you all pay. You will shed blood for every tear you made me shed. You will suffer for every pain you caused me. Your lives would be taken a thousand times for snatching ours. A human will be your ruin, I swear to you. Even if I have to come back a thousand times to make it happen, I will. Your women and children will pay for your wrong. If it doesn't happen in this life, it will in the next. Katarina will come back for you all" She yelled.

"Seize them" He ordered. The soldiers pulled her mother roughly. The fear in her mother's eyes fuelled her anger. She didn't want to die but She could do nothing. She couldn't do anything to save her mother.

They seized her as well and lead them out of the palace. People we're already gathered outside like they were just waiting for the King to order their execution. They threw things at them. Stones, chairs, food items, everything.

When they finally got there, they were both sent up. A soldier was already on top to place the ropes round their necks. Tears ran down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, mom. I'm so sorry" She sobbed as the crowd threw hateful words and objects at them. She couldn't even get her mom's answer as the lever was pulled and the planks fell.

Bodies of both mother and child dangled in the air.

She jerked up and gasped. It was a dream. It was all a dream. Had her life been so miserable than she'd started dreaming of death?.

She didn't want to die. At least not by hanging. Her eyes scanned her environment. The same old cell. The dark stinking place that reminded her of every wrong decision she took in life.

She looked just the way her mother had in the dream. Battered and dirty. She stood weakly and the chains dangled after her. Tears built up in her eyes. This wasn't the life she choose for herself.

It wasn't the life she was supposed to have. She hurt him. She ruined him. She made him sink deeper into his darkness. She had a choice and she choose the world over him. She destroyed the pieces of him she managed to gather.

'I, Valentine Fernando, hereby reject you as mate'. She remembered the words clearly.

'What makes you think I'd choose you over them? Who chooses insanity over sanity?'. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her defiant voice screamed in her head.

'I'm not yours, Eric. Tell your moon goddess she made a terrible mistake'.

She regretted it all. She regretted everything. She let her stubbornness ruin her. Now he was gone and she wasn't sure he was coming back. Earlier when fate turned her back on him, he'd retreated into the towers to hide his pain from the world. Now she'd hurt him, he had probably left for good.

"Please Eric...forgive me. Give me another chance to make things right" She sobbed holding to the bars. There was no one. Not a single soul outside her cell. She was hungry and weak. She couldn't even remember how she ended up there.

All she could think was how perfect her life would have been. How happy she was ten months ago. Then she heard heavy footsteps. All she could make out from the dark was the tall built figure advancing towards her cell.

As he got closer, her heart pounded. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible. Those fierce amber eyes that she once fell in love with. He stared at her while she trembled.

"E...Eric?" She stuttered but he kept staring with the same emotionless face he had when she first met him. Emotions and memories flashing between them as they stared at each other.

TEN MONTHS AGO

She ran through the local market bumping and apologising to people. She knew exactly what she was doing. A grin settled on her lips as she made it home.

She emptied her pockets and clothes. Rings, bracelets, money, earrings and much more. This was going to make a big day for her tomorrow. The jewelries alone could cover her rent.

She checked the time and sighed. Her mother was yet to be back. She left by dawn and now it was almost dusk. Where the hell was she?

"I'm so hungry. She should have been back to make dinner. That woman, I wonder what mischief she's up to this time" She sighed.

She made it to the kitchen and prepared dinner. After setting the table, her mother was still yet to be back. She began to panic. This was highly unusual. Her mother would never stay out this late no matter how busy she was.

Grabbing her coat, she stepped out of the house to go in search of her. She didn't have to look far cause her mom came running to her.

"Mom?" She called in surprise.

"Run, Val. Run!" She yelled running towards her. Run?. Why did she have to run? Who was chasing them?. That was when she saw the fierce blue eyes. It wasn't one or two or three. Whatever was chasing them was huge. She took to her heels with her mom behind her.

Soon, she heard only her footsteps. She looked back but her mom wasn't behind her. She stopped immediately.

"Mom?" She called but a growl responded behind her. She turned and nearly lost balance. It was a wolf. A huge one with scary blue eyes. She dashed further into the words with a pounding heart. She could hear it panting behind her.

She swerved to the right hoping to loose it but she was dead wrong. Another jump on her from the side, pinning her underneath it. She struggled to get it off but it wouldn't budge. She was scared. Very scared. Especially when it revealed it's teeth.

She heard more growls and in a flash, they were surrounded. The wolf got off her and she nearly peed in her pants.

"Seize her" It spoke and she almost passed out. It spoke! A wolf just spoke! This couldn't be happening. This wasn't the time for stupid hallucinations. Until one of them transformed and she fainted.

She woke up in a really dark place. It smelt pretty bad too. She tried standing but the dangling of chains drew her attention to where she was. She couldn't move her hands freely either.

"Val?" Her mom called and she quickly looked around. She could barely see a thing.

"Mom? Where are you?" She asked. She felt a hand on her shoulder and quickly turned.

"Mom!" She gasped and hugged her as tightly as the chains could permit her.

"I thought I lost you. Where are we? Why is it so dark here? And how did we get here?" She asked.

"The wolves brought us here. It's my fault, Val. I shouldn't have. I'm so sorry for dragging you into this" She sobbed but Valentine was yet to assimilate her words. Wolves? The talking ones? She thought she just was having another bad dream.

"Who are they? And why are we in chains?" She asked.

"Werewolves" She replied.

"Were what I thought they were myths? No, this is not happening. How did you even end up with them? What did you do mom?" She asked trying to make sense of everything.

"I kinda stole from their....Alpha".

She couldn't believe her ears. She did what?! How did she even meet their Alpha?. Her head was hurting already. She had to many questions.

"How? Who's their Alpha? How am I involved in this?".

Her mom was about to reply when the door opened. Before she could blink, she was thrown over someone's shoulders and carried out of the cell.

"Let me go. Who are you? Let go of me" She yelled hitting him but he didn't budge. Outside, she realised she was the only one the took. Her mother was still in there. He pushed open a set of double doors and threw her in.

"Fuck you" She spat as he shut the doors. Her whole body hurt. Her eyes scanned the room but it was empty. It was just a very big hall with lots of seats. She felt eyes on her but she couldn't tell whose. She didn't even see anyone.

"Hello?" She called and her voice echoed. No reply came. If they were going to keep her here, they should at least take off the chains. There were lots of goodies she could pocket. Like the gold statues lined on the high tables. Maybe even some of the big statues too.

Her hands itched to pick something but she couldn't shake off the feeling someone was watching her. Then her mother was thrown in as well. She was glad she wasn't facing it alone.

"Why are we here?" She asked.

"Shhhhh! He's here" Her mother whispered. She rolled her eyes.

"So what if he's here. I won't be punished for a crime, I know nothing about. He can hear all he wants" She scoffed.

"Quiet, Val. We don't want to anger him."

"Then I'm angered as well. Those bunch of animals attacked me. They took me against ,y will. Isn't that punishable by their stupid law?" She raised her voice.

"Valentine!" Her mother scolded.

"No, mom. They're the ones to be in chains not me. I'm not the one who turns wild and attack people. Even the gold we steal in the local markets is worth more than whatever you might have stolen yet they don't keep us chained like dogs. Right, how could I have forgotten? We're in the midst of savages" She snorted.

"Enough!" A voice thundered and they shivered. She knew there and then she had gone a little too far. Whatever punishment they deserved was double now.

Three years labour was certainly the last thing she expected. The king was certainly a nice man to hear her talk thrash about his people and still give them three years. She expected to be imprisoned for life or enslaved for at least twenty years.

He had to be a nice person. They weren't even going to work in chains or sleep in that dark stinking place. They were given a room among the servants who were humans just like them. She was damn relieved her tongue didn't push them to their graves.

Maybe he was trying to prove his people weren't as animalistic as she perceived. Whatever it was, she was happy she wasn't going to spend her life here. Just work for three years and She was free to go.

Changing into the servant uniform, she stared at the isolated building several metres away from their quaters. She wondered why such a place would be abandoned. It was part of the palace, wasn't it?. A hand rested on her shoulder and she turned.

"Hello, I'm Freya" The freckled girl introduced stretching her hand. She looked about her her age only slightly taller. She took the hand and returned a genuine smile.

"Valentine. Nice pigtails by the way" She said. Freya smiled. This was the first time someone complemented her. Others ignored her and mocked her most of the times.

"T..thanks" She replied shyly.

Valentine smiled, knowing fully well the girl needed a friend. She wasn't so good with friendships but she could try at least to get her out of her shell.

"How long have you been here?" She asked.

"Five years" Freya replied. She looked back at the abandoned building. Would five years be enough for her to know about it?. That building looked older than five years.

Freya stood beside her and followed her eyes to the building.

"It looks pretty old, doesn't it? They say that tower used to be the most beautiful part of the palace but they stopped looking after it."

"Why?" She asked with keen interest.

"I don't know but it's forbidden to go near it or even enter. Punishment is immediate execution" Freya informed. She didn't like how interested Valentine seemed about the tower. She just started work today. It'd be terrible if she got into trouble on her first day.

"Do you know why? Did you bother to ask? Tell me, is there anything else you know about the tower?" She asked.

"No. All I know is that it's forbidden but before that, it used to be a treasury. Gold, silver, diamonds, name it. Everything was stored in there".

At the mention of treasury, Valentine was already devising means to break in. If She could get a piece of diamond or gold each day for three years, her life would never remain the same.

She wouldn't even need to steal again. She already made up her made to sneak in there no matter what punishment was stated. She could only be punished if she got caught, right?.

She carried out her duties for the day judiciously under the watchful eyes of the soldiers. They pretended not to pay attention to her but she could tell when someone was watching her. She just hoped it would end at the close of the day so her plans could go smoothly.

Her last duty for the day was to water the royal garden. She groaned on seeing the size. She wondered if her mom was doing any work cause she hadn't seen her all day. Or maybe she was out to steal again so they could spend additional five years.

She chuckled at the thought. It pointed more to her than her mother. She watered the fruits and vegetables as well as the flowers. Just as she was about to leave, she noticed a lone rose. It was dark red and almost dying. She simply plucked it and fixed it in her hair. It smelt so nice.

After retiring for the day, she showered and waited for everyone to be asleep. Her mom was yet to be back as well but that was the least for her worries. She had bigger goals. As soon as she was sure the girls were asleep, she sneaked out.

She managed to hide from the guards at several intervals. Especially when they popped out of nowhere. The night was her major shield. On reaching the old abandoned place, she paused to rethink her decision.

She still had no idea why the place was abandoned. What if something bad happened in here? Who would come to her rescue? But again, gold, silver and diamonds were in there. She needed as much of them as she could carry. She pushed the double doors slightly and they gave way more easily than she expected. Another bad sign she was too stubborn to take.

She walked into the darkness and the door slammed shut. Her heart raced. Maybe she should turn back now she still had the chance but the diamonds....She couldn't leave them. She walked further into the dark relying on her instincts to lead her.

She hit her foot against the stairs and groaned. So much for trusting her instincts. She followed it up to the very last. It was even darker than it was downstairs. Her legs ached from so much climbing. She couldn't tell where she was and there was so sign of gold.

The rattling of chains startled her. What the hell was that? The gold couldn't be in chains. She started trembling as the rattling got closer. Why was it getting closer? Who was in there with her?.

"Little human. Pathetic thief. I can almost feel your trembling feet". She froze on hearing that. That voice sounded human in every way but there was a ruthless tone leading it. What if she was stuck with a rogue? Is that why the tower was forbidden?.

Without thinking twice, she took to her heels feeling the walls for any room she could hide in. She felt a handle and pushed it open immediately. Thankfully, it didn't make a sound. She was almost safe. The moonlight struck the room with just enough light for her to see.

She stumbled to the wardrobe and climbed. Her heart wouldn't stop pounding heavily against her chest. She was almost sure he could hear it from wherever he was and she wasn't wrong. She heard the door open few minutes later and her eyes watered. He was going to kill her.

"Your scent gives you away. Come out". It was a calm but cold order. What scent was he talking about? She sniffed herself lightly but perceived nothing. Then it struck her. The flower! It was the flower all along. She was so doomed.

"Don't make me get you myself". She wrapped her hands round her trembling self. She couldn't come out and face her death. In a flash, the wardrobe door was yanked off and a force sent her flying to the bed. A gasp escaped her lips. This was more terrifying than she expected.

Before she could get off the bed, the beast was on top of her. The moonlight reflected on him. He had hair concealing his face but his strong arms trapped her beneath him.. Then he raised his head and her throat dried up as those fierce amber eyes pierced into hers.

She never felt the urge to pee like she did now.