SLAVE TO THE VAMPIRE KING

GILDED CHAINS

The pale white ceiling above me gleamed under the light of an exquisite chandelier. It hung like a floating cloud, its crystal teardrops refracting light into shattered rainbows on the walls. My dilated pupils fixed on one particular bulb, its glow growing harsher as the memories of that cursed night unraveled in my mind.

I lay motionless, swathed in the softness of a pink cashmere gown, its delicate fabric a cruel irony against the jagged edges of my thoughts. The events of that night replayed like a relentless filmstrip, each frame sharper than the last, cutting into my psyche.

I had wanted to run. I had wanted to escape those crimson eyes, but they held me captive, pulling me into a void where reason faltered. My knees buckled under the weight of emotions I couldn’t name, and I let it happen. I let myself fall into the abyss. A fresh wave of tears stung my eyes as shame coiled around me like a vice. This is my fault, I thought bitterly. How could I have been so weak?

My parents’ voices echoed in my mind—stern, relentless reminders of the strength I was supposed to embody. "You must stand on your own, Samantha. The world will not bend for you." Now, I understood their urgency, their desperation to make me unbreakable. Yet here I was, shattered.

A gentle pinch on my arm pulled me from my spiraling thoughts. I turned to see the mute maid by my side. Her eyes, soft but resigned, met mine as she dabbed away my tears with a silken napkin. She moved with an efficiency that bordered on robotic, carefully repairing the damage my tears had inflicted on my makeup. I wanted to thank her, to say something, anything, but the words clung to my throat like a second skin.

My gaze shifted to the grand dresser opposite me. Its polished surface reflected a figure draped in finery, a girl I barely recognized. The golden hair, perfectly styled, and the luminous skin—it all belonged to someone else. The person staring back at me wasn’t me.

"What have they done to me?" The thought clawed at the edges of my mind. I looked like a princess from a fairytale, yet I felt like a prisoner in gilded chains.

The door burst open with a sharp crash, shattering the fragile silence. He entered—Master Sebastian—with a deliberate swagger that filled the room like an oppressive fog. In his hands, he carried a delicate wooden box adorned with golden embellishments.

The maid stiffened immediately, her head bowing so low it seemed she wanted to disappear. Without sparing her a glance, he waved her away with a flick of his wrist. She obeyed silently, leaving me alone with the man whose presence turned the air to ice.

My breath hitched as he approached, his dark eyes raking over me with a predatory intensity. Every step he took seemed to echo louder than it should, the sound reverberating in my chest.

“You clean up well,” he drawled, his voice a silk sheet covering jagged steel. “I never imagined you were a diamond hidden in the rough. A little polish, and look at you now—shining brighter than I could have dreamed.”

He leaned closer, his fingers brushing against my cheek as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear. The coldness of his touch seeped into my skin, and I shivered involuntarily.

Sebastian opened the box, revealing a necklace so encrusted with diamonds that it seemed to capture every light in the room. “Look at this,” he said, draping it around my neck. “A fitting crown for my new star. Tonight, you’ll be more than just a trophy—you’ll be a masterpiece.”

I recoiled as his hands lingered too long, tracing the contours of my neck and shoulders. The disgust rose in my throat like bile, and I found myself pushing him away with more strength than I knew I had.

“Stay away from me, you filthy pig!” The words erupted from me before I could think them through, my voice trembling with fury and fear.

For a moment, his expression was blank, as if he couldn’t believe I had dared to defy him. Then, his hand struck me across the face with a force that sent me crashing into the dresser. Pain bloomed across my cheek, sharp and relentless, as the taste of blood filled my mouth.

“You ungrateful b***h!” he snarled, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking me off the ground. The pain was blinding, his grip like a vice as he dragged me toward the bed.

“I should break you right here, right now,” he hissed, his breath hot and venomous against my ear. “But no. That would be too easy, wouldn’t it? I have other plans for you.”

His smirk was a dagger, cold and cutting. He released me with a shove, and I crumpled onto the bed, too stunned to move. Straightening his suit, he barked an order to the maid, who had returned at some unseen signal.

“Fix her up. She’s going to the event, and I won’t have her looking like a mess.”

The maid helped me to my feet, her hands trembling as she tried to steady me. I wanted to scream, to cry, to fight, but all I could do was stand there, numb and hollow.

As she ushered me down the hallway, the glittering lights of the event space came into view. Laughter and music spilled through the open doors, a grotesque contrast to the storm raging within me.

And then, I saw him again—Master Sebastian. His gaze locked onto mine, sharp and unyielding. He began to move toward me, each step slow and deliberate, as if savoring my fear.

My heart thundered in my chest, each beat echoing a single thought: This is only the beginning.