The soldiers dropped her in a heap onto the carpeted floor of a dark room. Elora was too heartbroken to get up and take note of her surroundings. She still could not believe what had just transpired. First, she met her mother, who turned out to be the queen of this terrifying place, she was then informed of her imminent death and finally, she experienced the worst betrayal.

A sickening thought entered her mind, so disheartening she groaned out loud. Thayer had known something was not right with Banu, he had even warned her not to tell Banu about her dreams. As she lay on the floor in a heap her tears of sadness dried and an urgent panic overcame her. She needed to get out of here. Whatever her mother had planned for her could not be pleasant.

It didn't take her long to explore the entire room, there was one way in through the door and no windows. The room was dimly lit with candles placed high on the walls, casting a warm glow in the room. A large carved wooden bed sat in the centre, piled with soft woollen blankets. Her grubby hair and dusty clothes contrasted against the splendour of the beautifully decorated room. Yet it still felt like a prison. Without anything do, she laid back on the soft bed and closed her eyes.

The sound of the door banging open jolted her awake, her eyes landed on the soldier at her door.

"Queen Ameda has requested your company at dinner this evening." His voice was dark and distant underneath his helmet.

"Well, you can tell her that I decline her invite." She replied, laying back down.

"Wrong answer." He growled and suddenly she was lifted off the bed and dragged out of the room. Letting her body go limp, she allowed him to drag her down various hallways and into a large dining room. The room was adorned with enormous paintings framed in gold, their brightness glistened in the candlelight. Ameda was seated at the giant table, which was piled high with various foods. Elora noticed immediately one other chair placed opposite Ameda and sighed.

"Darling! How wonderful, come sit." She daintily patted the table and pointed at Elora's seat. Warily Elora nodded at her and took her seat at the table. Her traitorous stomach grumbled loudly as she surveyed the many dishes set out. "Please eat, this is all for you." Ameda smiled pleasantly and Elora thought that it reminded her of a spider inviting its prey into its web. Nether the less she reluctantly placed a few root vegetables and golden baked bread on her plate, making sure to avoid the roasted meats, in fear of what meat it might be. Together they ate in silence, Elora too scared to say anything and Ameda enjoyed the discomfort in her daughter's face.

When Elora had finished the last of her meal Ameda clapped her hands and instantly the room filled with servants. Elora watched the people as they quickly picked up the dishes and whisked them out of the room. They were stick thin, their bones protruding from the flesh and their skin was a ghastly white, their blue veins shone. Her mind flashed back to the blood draining room and sadness flooded her as she realised that these poor souls probably wouldn't be alive much longer. An even more chilling thought occurred to her, she was one of the poor souls too. Once the room had emptied Ameda cleared her throat. "I thought we could have a little chat. You're probably dying..." She started giggling at herself. "Poor choice of words, sorry darling." Elora paled.

"Sorry, eager to know what's going to happen," Ameda says, locking eyes with Elora.

"I've given it a bit of thought and decided that tomorrow evening is the best time, don't worry I won't bore you with the scientific details." She leant across the table and patted Elora's hand as if comforting her.

"What's going to happen to me?" Elora asked, her voice trembling.

"I'm afraid it's going to be a smidge unpleasant...for you I mean. I'll simply remove all the blood from your body and absorb it into mine." Elora rocked back in her chair in fright. "Calm down! It won't last long and you won't be around afterwards anyway." She tutted sadly, but Elora could see through the fake sadness and instead saw malice and greed.

"No! I won't do it!" Elora stood up and pushed the chair backwards onto the floor. "Please don't do this, please I beg of you. I ... I... we can find another way!" She walked around to Ameda and latched onto her arms, her fingers digging desperately into the silky fabric. "Please, I don't want to die."

Ameda leant forward and rested a cold hand on her daughter's white hair, stroking the strands gently. "I'm sorry pet, this is your destiny." The hand stilled and Ameda stood up abruptly, Elora stumbled back. "Now get up and stop whining, it's unbecoming."

"I will see you tomorrow evening bathed and ready. Sweet dreams!" She called over her shoulder and walked out of the room.

Later that evening after Elora had been escorted back to her quarters, Queen Ameda and Banu were bent over a book preparing the ceremony for tomorrow, unaware of the shadow hiding behind the wall.