The Ruby Empire

Merlind the Mimic

Female Reader x Male Monster

You had been sold not too long ago. The old king who had purchased you lived in an even older castle. It was crumbling from the foundation. Years ago an earthquake had split the castle in two. It was not the sort of place people should live in. The king, though, continued to live there. He continued collecting his riches and treasures, very much like a dragon.

Most of the other staff who worked there looked as if they had lost something a long time ago. They stared blankly into the distance and their eyes looked hallowed. There were only a few like you, still young, still afraid. You crept around the castle as if every step meant the beginning of the end.

Robbers and thieves weren't uncommon. You came across one nearly every day. The castle was easy to get into, but getting out was another tale. The king enjoyed his games. He loved when trespassers came into his crumbling home and attempted to make off with his riches. The castle was a puzzle to those who did not belong to the king. More people died in the castle than outside its walls it seemed. You often heard cries of agony and fear. Sometimes at night, you heard the pitiful whimpers of those clinging to survival. It was becoming more than you could bear.

You had been taught the castle well, at least. The king gave his staff that ounce of safety. You knew all the safe passages and the hidden corridors of the place. You often took this knowledge and hid. Ducking into small rooms full of treasure to hide. Your favorite room was one full of expensive silks and blankets and pillows filled with the down of harpies and phoenixes. It was a hard room to find though, it often moved.

One day, while trying to find it, you come across a new room. This room was full of many treasure chests. Big ones. Small ones. Ornate ones. Simple ones. As you walk inside you heard something breathing. You still and hold your breath to listen for where the sound comes from. Only it seems to be coming from everywhere.

You walk further inside, glancing towards each chest. You then see one in the back on a raised platform. It's covered by a cloth that ripples and flows on a breeze. You just can't help but notice that there is no breeze in this room.

You step towards it and you kneel down to peer under the cloth. You see something move underneath and you pull back. Was this a room of the king's design? One of traps and certain demise? You're uncertain. It's not a room you've come across before and it's not one you've been told of.

You turn to walk away and you hear the breathing again. "Not going to try for riches?" A voice asks.

You turn back towards the cloth covered chest, your lips parting in surprise.

"So many chests, so many possibilities," the voice sighs again. "Yet you do not touch anything."

"I wouldn't dare touch any treasure in this castle," you answer the voice. "It isn't worth finding out your fate that way."

It laughs. "Then you must also belong to the old bastard then?" The cloth ripples more and rises up over the dusty podium.

You frown, "do you?" You snip back.

"I'm trapped," the voice responds. "Held against my will. More prisoner than guest, no matter what he says."

You glance down at the ground.

"Prisoners, the both of us," it sighs. "I've only ever dealt with the thieves."

You glance back up towards it. "What are you?" You step closer again.

"Pull away the sheet, find out."

You reach for the cloth and then you recoil your hand. "Promise me nothing will happen," you say as you pull your hand back.