Slave Boy in media. His name shall be revealed eventually.

"Commander," Nicklaus calls out.

Seconds later, two strong hands already have their grip on my left upper arm. Mr. Meany starts to manhandle me, roughly dragging me toward the top of the staircase.

"No, get the hell off me!" I yell in his big, mean face, attempting to break free. "Argh! I swear when I get free, I'm going to play ping-pong with your balls."

He doesn't budge, not even a bit.

"Asswipe! Jerk!" I mumble.

He still doesn't loosen his grip no matter how many names I call him. I see the slave boy shaking in his boots at this point. Most likely, he pissed his pants. On the other hand, Nicklaus's glowing red eyes are lit with excitement. He's circling the boy like a vulture circling its meal, a predator cornering its prey.

This isn't happening. No, this can't be happening! We have just been in this building for less than five minutes.

Within three minutes I have already sentenced a poor slave to death. I don't get it. This must be some sick joke. What's the harm in looking at another slave? This is ridiculous. Unbelievable. Absolutely absurd.

I continue my attempt to break free from Mr. Meany's iron grip. All the other slaves are now watching with horror-filled expressions.

"If you do this, I will never forgive you!" I yell as Mr. Meany pulls me up the stairs.

He doesn't say anything. Nicklaus doesn't even look my way.

"You're a monster!" I yell again.

Mr. Meany continues to haul me up the staircase.

Nicklaus turns around to face me.

"I know, firecracker," he admits, smiling.

God, I hate that smile. That sick, beautiful, and sadistic smile.

Okay, I'm lying. I love that smile, but seriously, who kills a slave because his chosen decided to look at him? This is some sick sh*t. Barbaric, wild, and absolutely unacceptable!

Nicklaus's eyes are now bloodshot red.

Thud, thud, thud. My heart is thundering in my chest, sounding like a beating drum. I'm so tired of hearing that goddamn sound, then everything goes in motion the very moment my two feet hit the top of the staircase. I feel like I'm watching a movie about a lion getting ready to pounce on top of a flamingo.

Nicklaus grabs the poor slave boy by his neck—all eyes are on them—but Nicklaus's eyes are locked on mine. He turns the boy to face me, squeezing his windpipes so hard. I'm sure the boy is now mute.

King Cyrus says nothing, amusement in his eyes. He's tickled. Now I understand why he received the title Ruthless King. He doesn't even care that one of his slaves is about to be drained on his lobby floor. For no reason, there's no pity or sympathy in his wicked eyes. Nope, none at all. He's smiling, thrilled.

What type of man gets a kick out of another man dying? I know what kind: a sick one, sicker than sick!

In the next second, Nicklaus wraps his arm around the poor slave boy's neck and sinks his fangs into his flesh. You can hear the human boy's skin as it rips. 

The boy's screams fill the air as his blood pours out of his wounds. My heart flutters rapidly as reality hits me: Nicklaus is really going to kill him. I can't believe that I'm the cause of another soul being taken from its body. I can't believe that I have been so foolish, so stupid, and dumb. This is my fault. I let my guard down, knowing damn well that I'm dealing with a barbaric king. He is unpredictable. How can I allow this to happen?

My body starts to shake as guilt washes over me. I swear on, my life I will not make the same mistake. Screw them all.

I look into the slave boy's eyes.

"Please, stop," I beg. "Please, Nicklaus!"

Nicklaus only digs his fangs deeper, never once breaking eye contact with me. How can he be so cruel?

The boy's golden skin turns pale. I know he will be dead within the next minute. I can't watch this.

My eyes drop to the marble floor. It's squeaky clean in reality but in my mind, it's smothered in blood. My tears are flowing freely. My heart is breaking, my guilt swallowing me whole.

"My King, we have a problem," Mr. Meany speaks, catching me right before I fall.

I'm here, but I'm not here. I can see and hear, but I can't feel. I'm officially numb. Seconds later, I hear someone burst through the front door. The commotion from outside is loud. I'm too afraid to raise my eyes. I'm lost in my own mind.

"What happened?"

"The dog got loose," is the last thing I recall hearing.

* * *

The view is great. New York City lights shine bright like diamonds, glistening high above in the night sky. I'm staring out of a window in some room that I don't remember entering. The last past couple of hours have been a blur to me. 

All of my emotions seem to be all over the place, but I'm too exhausted to sort anything out at the moment, or maybe my mind has shut down completely. I don't want to know what's going on around me or sort anything out at all. I'm tired of this life and these monsters. I still can't believe I let my guard down. Ugh, I'm such an idiot.

Someone knocks on the door.

"Claire," calls Xander. "Can I come in?"

No! I'm tired of him too. Instead of telling him to piss off, I don't say anything at all.

He takes that as an invitation and comes in anyway.

I continue to stare out the window, pretending to be oblivious to his presence.

"My apologies for not getting to you sooner," says Xander with a concerned voice. "Are you okay? Have you had anything to eat? I can get a servant to bring you something."

Oh, now he cares. Where the hell was he and why does it have to be a servant to bring me food? Why can't he since he cares so much?

It's kind of funny how he is nowhere to be found when I need him the most—for example, he wasn't there when that monster attempted to force himself on me and when his barbaric brother added to my already traumatized mind.

The moral of the story is that one's words cannot be trusted. He says he cares, but actually, he doesn't.

"I'm fine. Can you just go away?" I reply.

Right now I prefer to be left alone. I don't need anyone's pity or sympathy.

Xander takes a step closer. I can see his reflection in the window. The look on his face says it all. He isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Now that I don't need him, he's sticking to me like glue.

"Don't push me away, brave one."

I roll my eyes so hard. I'm surprised that they don't get stuck in the back of my head.

"How can you push away an invisible wall?"

"By smashing away the invisible barrier," he answers.

Of course, Xander is the one to snap back with a clever remark. He is the king of wit.

I turn to give him a piece of my mind, but I'm left with my jaw dropped when I see his face. There is a long claw mark covering the left side of Xander's face. All my anger demolishes at once. Without thinking, I run over towards him and jump in his arms.

"What happened to you?" My chest tightens with pain.

"Shh, brave one." He wraps his arms around me. "I should be the one apologizing to you. I wasn't here to talk some sense into Nicklaus. Please, forgive me."

"You can't talk sense into the senseless," I simply tell him, burying my head in his chest.

Xander is a giant compared to me. I have to stand on the tip of my toes to hold my balance. I wrap my arms around his huge frame. I hate to admit that I needed this. I needed the comfort of a good friend. We both do.

"I know you don't want to hear this, brave one," says Xander, pulling himself apart from me. He studies my face for a while. "I don't believe you should be too hard on Nicklaus about what happened."

He's right. I don't want to hear what he has to say.

"Can you at least promise me you will try to have an open mind?" he asks.

"Nope. Not going to happen!"

I know they say, "No question is a dumb question," but that was a dumb question.

"Claire," he calls my name, as I turn my back.

"Xander." I look out the window.

He takes a deep breath. I can tell he is carrying the world on his shoulders, and for the life of me I can't figure out why.

"Did you finish reading The Vampire Studies?"

He changes the subject.

"Nope, something came up," I answer, closing my eyes. I don't want to think about that right now either."

"Hmm . . . I see," states Xander cautiously. "Do you have it with you?"

I nod in response. Someone packed my belongings for me to bring along to North America. I figured that Xander did it, but once I found the book inside my luggage, I guess I was wrong.

"There's a chapter titled 'Blood Lust'. Maybe you should read it," he suggests.

His tone makes it sound like a request more than a suggestion. He is up to something.

"Are you going to explain to me why all of a sudden you suggest I read a certain chapter?"

"I think you will like it," he answers quickly, quicker than usual, confirming my suspicions. He really is up to something.

"And I expect that you're not going to tell me what happened to your face either, are you?" I ask, even though I already know the answer.

He doesn't respond. Now I'm the one asking dumb questions. Uh, Nicklaus and his brother are not the same in any shape or form, but they are both . . . unbelievable.

You know what? I'm sick of the mind games.

I make my way towards the luggage that was filled with items and start to throw them out one by one. He wants me to read some stupid chapter. Fine. We can read it together.

I find the book in less than a second and then turn to face him, but to my surprise, he is gone. Typical Xander.

* * *

Nine hours, five minutes, and fifty-nine seconds. That's how long I have been in this stupid room since Xander left me. To make matters worse, Mr. Meany and his sidekick are outside the door, guarding me like a hawk.

I tried to go after Xander the exact moment I realized he left, but—boom!—here goes Mr. Meany, standing at the door with one hand pointed to the window. It didn't take me long enough to figure out who sentenced me to prison.

I'm losing my mind. I'd rather be with the other slaves instead of sitting in one place for however long King Monster determines is fit for me. It's not fair. I don't see the reason why I'm incarcerated. He's the one who killed someone for no reason, not me. Argh! The only perk is when they send lots and lots of food for me.

The sidekick has been in and out of the room. She keeps asking if I want to learn how to control my heartbeat. Screw her too.

I just look at her like I'm looking through her, invisible and unseen. I think she decided to give up at this point. She hasn't been in here for a while. I know I have been acting childish, but oh, they treat me like a child, so might as well act like one. Technically I'm a child to them. For all I know, the sidekick can be at least three hundred years old or so.

Boredom strikes, so I take Xander's advice. I read some of the books after all. I take a seat inside of the window opening and attempt to locate the "Blood Lust" chapter immediately, but I don't have much luck because the book is so thick.

After ten minutes of searching for the chapter, I finally decided just to pick up where I left off.

"The Story behind the Awakening." Nope, I had enough of that.

I flip through the page.

"Beloved." Okay, now this sounds interesting.

A vampire has only one destined beloved. They are considered to be a vampire's other half—the most-cherished being in the world.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. How cliche can you get? I mean, I'm perfectly aware of what a vampire's beloved is but this entry sounds cheesy as fuck. Pardon my language, but it's done.

To make matters worse, I know plenty of slaves, like Jadis, who fantasize about this ridiculous scenario. Don't get me wrong. She's a sweet girl. She just has a sick obsession.

Like I have an obsession with Nicklaus's lips voice, says the voice inside my head.

Okay, okay I'm being a hypocrite.

I continue to read.

A vampire can decide to deny their destined beloved and choose to claim another. If a vampire denies their destined, they may risk their destiny. They have to be prepared for their destined to find a second-chance mate.

"A second-chance mate," I repeat out loud.

What the hell is that? I make a mental note to ask Xander about this later, then the door burst open. My eyes shoot to the door.

"Let's go now," says the sidekick.

Oh great, she's back for me. Some people will never get enough of blatant disrespect.

As soon as I open my big, sarcastic mouth to tell her to fuck off, her eyes widen, and seconds later she is thrown into the wall.

What the fuck!

My head snaps back to the door, and my eyes land on a tiny-framed woman with long jet-black hair that blends perfectly with her milk‑chocolate skin.

'"Mecca?" I ask, unsure if my eyes are playing tricks on me.

"Hello, human!" she growls fiercely. Her skin seems to glow, and her yellow eyes are sparked with light. She looks stunning. "I told you we shall meet again," she adds.

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Awake Mondays. Please Please Please don't forget to vote, follow, and comment. The next update shall be Awake Friday. Please Go follow my fan page if you haven't for exclusive updates and cool The King of All vampire Character art. The link is in my bio.

2,458-word count by the way.