More Than Prey: Dimitrescu Daughters x Male Reader

Chapter 13: Consent Laws

June sat solemnly at a small table inside the maiden's quarters. Her fellow maids were all elsewhere, most of them tending to the broken window near the library. She sighed, her notebook open in front of her as she dipped a feather into the nearby pot of ink and scribbled down a name.

Heather

Heather had been asked to attend to Lady Cassandra's room just a couple hours ago. Her body was sent to the cooks in pieces. A shaky breath filled June's lungs, her eyes scanning up along all the other names of her lost sisters.

Dawn
Maria
Josephine
Patricia
Erica
Poppy
Annabelle
Abigail

The list would go on and on if she flipped the pages, but she spared herself that pain and stood up, putting the feather back into the pot with a sniffle. No matter how many friends she lost, she would never get used to their deaths.

"June?" A familiar voice filled her ears. Even beneath so much pain and pity, it gave her a small spark of comfort. She looked behind her, met by the sight of (Y/N) in the doorway. "He's alive!"

She knew about him escaping from the ladies but she feared he might have been injured and bled out without help. With relief, she put on a smile, even if it were still saddened, and moved to his side, pulling him into the room. "(Y/N). I thought they'd killed you."

(Y/N) pursed his lips. "Yeah, me too." He scratched his head, part of him still confident he was just hallucinating and had actually died the first time he met the sisters. He looked her up and down, noticing June's eyes were red and puffy. "What happened?"

June's expression faltered as the despair beneath surfaced. "One of the maidens was killed by Lady Cassandra. She was like a sister to me..." She murmured, eyes peering down at her feet.

(Y/N)'s face fell. Part of him felt a little responsible. If he hadn't had that interaction with Cassandra in their last encounter, maybe she would've been in a good enough mood to not slaughter innocent maidens. "I'm... sorry."

"It's not your fault. Like I told you before, we're destined to die in here sooner or later." June sighed. She'd already resigned herself to this cruel fate. She'd lost her aspirations, her desire to escape, perhaps even respect for her own life. What did they matter now?

(Y/N) felt a little emotional by that weighty statement. This was no way to live. "I'm going to get you out of here alive, June, I promise."

June looked up at him like he was insane. "(Y/N), I don't think you understand. There is no way out. Once you enter, you don't leave. Even if you could hope to possibly reach the door, they're locked and the sisters carry around the keys." She knew if he even dared to try snatch one from them, they'd either torture him or outright kill him.

In response, June watched as a sly expression appeared across (Y/N)'s face. He looked like a smug kid who had caught doing something naughty. "What's that face for?" She questioned, watching a grin curve across his lips. Her mouth opened to speak, pausing as she came to a realisation. "You have one, don't you?"

"Nahhhhh. Can't believe you'd even think that." (Y/N) slid a hand into his jeans pocket, slowly reeling it back to reveal a golden key. "I'd never steal from Cassandra Dimitrescu while she's unconscious."

June was absolutely baffled. "You... You took it from Cassandra?" She put emphasis on the name, acutely aware that Cassandra would be the most likely to blow up over that.

"Well, yeah. After our little round and round she passed out. I'm guessing from the cold or something, not that it matters. Before I got back to running, I swiped it from her." He recounted, making damn well sure to leave out the fact he had to pluck it from between her... you know... her... yeah. "No one needs to know that or I'll look like a perv." Internally, he was sweating a river. "Just going to hope she doesn't click onto the little thievery."