Persephone

22. Care

Alastair dropped the blood drenched whip, stepping away from his current victim.

Twenty-four hours.

That's how long he had left Persephone in that cell. That's how long it took for him to take his anger out on the rest of the prisoners in his dungeon.

Alastair was a just but firm king. His people were treated well, but God help whosoever dare break a law. The man he current had in front of him had gone on a rampage in the nineteenth century, killing an entire village. His enforcers had found the offender a few miles south of the decimated town, drunk off blood and delirious. He was currently serving a five hundred year sentence in the dungeons of Alastair's palace for almost bringing about the knowledge of Vampiric existence.

There were many other like him throughout the dungeons, and over the course of the day, Alastair had tortured nearly every one. He did not kill them, however. Who would he have left the next time his little doll angered him?

He couldn't bear to lay a hand on her in such a way. But she had needed to be punished. This was for her own good. How would she learn she could not disobey him if he never enforced his rules?

Signing, he returned to his chambers to clean himself before retrieving her. She had spend those past 24 hours in the dark without food or water. This was her punishment. Not enough to fatally hurt her but enough to take away her fight against him. He always kept tabs on her, allowing her emotions to be a faint hum in the back of his mind. She had been asleep for several hours. After a few days with very little food, then exerting herself in the woods, the aftermath of her adrenaline, the loss of the contents of her stomach, and no nourishment since then, Persephone had very little fight left in her, even if she had been conscious.

An hour later, after the blood had been scrubbed from his fingernails and a new set of clothes placed on his body, Alastair descended back to the dungeons.

Ignoring the moans of pain and suffering as he passed each cell, Alastair had focus only for one place. Deep in the darkest depth of his labyrinth of hell, Alastair kept solitary cells. These were meant to break someone. No light, very little sound. No food, no water. Anyone who came out of there, came out compliant.

Unlocking the cell, he allowed a crack of light to enter. There, where he had left her, sat Persephone, slouched against the wall, head to leaning to the side, unconscious. She was in quite a state, there was vomit in her hair and tear tracks down her face. By the smell of the room it seemed she had also soiled herself. Alastair felt his heart clench, no matter how much she deserved it, this was his darling, and he had done this to her.

Moving to her side, he quickly undid the shackles, revealing raw red skin around her wrists. In this unconscious state, Persephone's guard was down, and her body was allowed to act naturally to him. It felt the connection between them, causing her to curl into his chest, allowing her to feel safe.

Within seconds they were back in Alastair's chambers, his footsteps echoed as he headed towards the bathroom. Alastair knew when she woke up she would be a lot more comfortable to not be drenched in her own vomit and waste. Drawing the bath, he placed her in, dress and all. It's not like it could have been salvaged after a romp in the woods and a night in the dungeons.

As Alastair washed Persephone, eventually taking the dress off and tossing the soaking garment in a basket, he kept one hand one her waist at all times, not wanting her to slide into the enormous bath while in her unconscious state.

When he was done, he gently lifted her, wrapping a fluffy white towel around her and carrying her back to their bedroom.

Once he got her into a nightgown and placed her on the bed, blankets over her, back propped up by pillows, before cutting open his hand and holding it over her mouth.  After she had swallowed a mouthful, he took his hand away. Not only would she feel better in the morning, but his blood in her system would help her think more kindly towards him, perhaps the bond between them would be a bit stronger.

Sighing, he crawled into the king sized bed next to her, Alastair pulled Persephone into his side, even though it was midday, he was ready to sleep for a few hours, just until his girl woke up.

But just before he allowed himself to relax into slumber, he mind linked Martha, the plans would be set into motion tomorrow.

A/n: sorry for being missing! I just started college and everything's been really hectic but I really appreciate you guys being patient. Right now I have a lot going on, being a music ed major, I have to take an excessive amount of classes to graduate so I'm currently taking nine as opposed to the usual four or five of a college student. I don't often have time to even take a nap let alone sit down and write. I'm gonna try my best to keep going with the story though. I really appreciate all the positive comment, please keep reading!