A/N:

 Warning: this chapter contains dark themes including abuse. You can message me if you want a summed up version of this chapter. 

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Dread pooled into my stomach as the cold, heavy, metal collar clasped into place. I would never get used to being dragged by the chain that connects to the inescapable collar. I remember the first time they put me in it, how hard I fought, and then how badly I was beaten by the guards. I never resisted again. Years of this place had made me the perfect pet. The picture of obedience. There was no fight left in me these days. 

I studied the ground as I was dragged by the neck over to where King Leon was sitting on his throne. The throne itself was made of skulls and metal. The skulls were human, and animal ones. Many of the inhabitants in the North had the ability to shapeshift, although I had never seen it before. In my lifetime of slavery in the Kingdom of Blood and Darkness there had never been any gatherings between the three kingdoms. Also, trespassing into a kingdom that you did not have citizenship or a letter requesting your presence was punishable by death. There was not much of any mingling. 

I kneeled before the vampire King and after what felt like a lifetime had passed, he tilted my chin up with his shockingly cold, and calloused hands. I kept my eyes downcast, and my heart thundered in my chest. Usually, Leon immediately dismissed me to go sit with the other girls on one side of him. Sometimes we danced for him, or fed him from our wrists, and the days he was in a foul mood we were sent back to our cells. I longed for the days he was in a foul mood. 

Leon's voice rumbled out, "Why have you been haunting my dreams, human?" The whole room froze at our King's words. In my shock I made the mistake of looking at him. King Leon had skin that was so light it was almost translucent. He was incredibly tall, and lean. He had raven black hair that was usually tied back, and blood red eyes that sometimes looked like burning embers. He always had stubble on his face, but never grew it out or shaved it fully. If he wasn't a monster, one might consider him handsome.

The King dropped my chin and the backhand that I received across my face was made worse by the amount of rings the King wore. Sharp pain raced through me, and I put my palm to my now aching cheek. I kept my eyes focused on the Kings polished shoes and tried to keep my body from shaking. 

"You know better than to look up, pet," sighed Leon. I despised it, but shame coursed through me at his words. I did know better. 

The King stated, "Great now my hand hurts," while flexing and curling his fingers near my face. I doubted his hand actually hurt. Most of what he did was for show. "Put Maya in the cage. Maybe that will remind her of her place." 

Two guards came over from where they were stationed against the black and white marble wall, and yanked the chain that was connected to my neck. I fell backward, and then scrambled to get on my feet as they kept moving. Panic raced through me as we walked towards the cage that was being lowered down from the ceiling. It was just big enough for someone to sit in, but not stand. Everyone in the huge marbled throne room watched as the cage hit the ground with a clank in the middle of the room. I expected tears to start flowing but none came. This wasn't the first time that I was forced into this rust covered metal cage. 

I shivered as I climbed into the cage. I was apprehensive but a sharp kick from a steel boot to my back caused me to fully enter it. A guard reached in and using a key unlocked the collar from my neck. I rubbed at the tender area on my throat as the barred door shut and I was hoisted up into the air. Chills wrecked my body, and I failed to find a comfortable way to sit. The sheer black dress I wore did me no favors. 

The King's roaring laugh found me even twenty feet in the air. I watched as he grabbed a slave with ebony skin and bit into her neck without warning. She cried out, but he clamped down harder. Her cries faded as her body went limp in his arms. After a few minutes he casted her to the side. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was dead. He was in my least favorite of moods of his today. He was in a cruel mood. I wondered at what had caused him to be in such a chaotic and harsh state today. 

I almost felt grateful to be in the cage instead of subjected to more of the King's wrath. If it weren't for the freezing bars digging into my skin, and the uncertainty of when I would be released, I would be grateful. 

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The longest I had ever been in the cage was three days. It was the day after I had been beaten for resisting my collar. Since then I had been thrown up here a number of times for small infractions. Once I was put in here for sneezing too loud. 

The Kingdom of Blood and Darkness was a cruel place to be if you were on the bottom. Sometimes I dreamed about what the other kingdoms were like. Were they just as vicious? Could I have had a normal life if I had not been born into slavery? If I had not caught the eye of the Vampire King all those years ago? 

It had been around four days since I had made eye contact with the King. Vampires rarely slept, and that meant I couldn't either here in the bright thrown room with the king and his subjects constantly milling about. My bones ached, and I would give anything to be able to stretch my body out. My head was fuzzy as the days blurred together. I was brought down twice and given stale bread and moldy cheese, as well as stagnant water. My dress was ruined from me releasing my bladder, but luckily I wasn't fed enough to have a bowel movement yet. 

I had witnessed King Leon murder ten more girls in the time I had been up here. Usually, he is more conservative of his food resources. He normally drinks from the veins in our wrists, but doesn't completely drain us of blood. I looked at the thousands of tiny scars that littered my wrist. Some fresh, and some fading with age. He had drank from my neck a handful of times, but restrained himself from killing me. 

His treasures were precious to him, and I didn't understand what had caused him to go on this small killing spree. I had seen him be merciless with his subjects, and enemies. I had seen the killer that he is, but something must have riled him up to kill so many of his slaves. 

I was drifting in and out of a restless sleep when the sound of someone running on the marble floor floated up to me, and my interest perked. I grabbed onto two of the bars and peered down at the scaly winged servant that was urgently making his way to Leon. 

"My King." The servant bowed deeply before King Leon who had been whispering to one of his guards. The whispers cut off and the vampire king looked down his nose at the servant. 

"Why are you disturbing us?" Leon asked with clear distaste coating his voice. 

"I-I um have a message for you. The one you have been waiting on, your highness," answered the servant who remained bowed at the waist, and was now trembling. 

King Leon replied curtly, "Well, go on then." 

"King Edwin of the Western Kingdom, and King Damion of the Northern Kingdom have agreed to your terms. The meeting will take place in 7 days time at the agreed upon mutual space between the kingdoms. I have the two letters here, for your majesty," stated the servant. He kept his head down but produced two sealed letters out of his satchel and held them out to the king. Leon nodded at the guard he had been talking to, and the guard grabbed the letters out of the messengers shaking hand. 

"Dismissed," replied Leon with sweeping motion of his hand. The servant scurried away as quickly as he came. 

After a few moments of silence  the vampire king addressed the room. "Get my affairs in order. We will leave in five days." At that King Leon stormed out of the room, leaving his subjects scrambling in his wake

It was only then that I was finally lowered to the ground, and hauled back to the comfort of my cell. I promptly passed out as soon as my body hit the ground.