The King's Pet

#16

The sun hit me like a slap in the face. Lovely, I know. 

"Mer!" I whined as I covered myself with the blanket, taking it off of her. 

"Chloe!" she moaned back, trying to snatch the blanket back. "I'm freaking cold."

"But I'm freaking sleepy and the sun is pissing me off."

"So?!" she growled sleepily.

"So I want the blanket!" 

"I don't care what you want. It's my blanket!" she screeched, tugging it away.

We ended up having a massive tug of war, occasionally throwing a pillow to distract each other. After about ten minutes of trying to get the blanket, we both gave up and collapsed on the bed. 

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are we such losers?" Mer chuckled as we both stared at the ceiling.

I let out a big, boisterous laugh. "I have no idea."

We both laughed at nothing for the next twenty minutes, the sleepiness probably clouding our brains. After a while, I got up and checked the time. 

It was 7:28 am. 

Shit! I have thirty-two minutes to get ready and down for breakfast. 

I leaped out of bed and scampered to my room after giving Mer a quick hug. I yanked Mer's pajamas- that I had borrowed- off and sprinted to the shower. After that, I hastily put on the dress that was laid on my bed- probably from another maid. 

Fuck. I forgot to wear a bra.

You know what? Screw the bra. No one will notice. 

I brushed my hair violently- yes, violently- and sped to the other side of the room to put on my heels. 

I glanced at the clock. 

7:56 am.

I practically shot down the two flights of stairs, approaching the doors of the dining room. I paused for a second. Seth was going to be in there. Ugh. This was going to be really awkward. 

I drew in a deep breath before opening the doors.

***

The clanging of the cutlery on the table were the only sounds that could be heard in the otherwise pin-drop silence.

To say it was uncomfortable was an understatement. 

"So..." I started off, trying to break the awkward silence.

Seth looked up at me nonchalantly before returning his gaze back to his meal.

Fuck, this is going to be harder than I thought.

"Um... the weather is nice."

Really Chloe? Is that the best you got? Why don't you tell him about your China collection next? Because that won't be boring.

He just nodded, once again not saying a word.

"Look, Seth," I started, but stopped, biting my lip. I sighed deeply and started again, "I'm sorry for trying to hit you. Again."

His turquoise-eyed gaze moved to my face, studying it. I shifted in my seat, feeling uncomfortable under his unwavering stare.

"It's fine." And then he went back to eating. 

Is that it? I've been told that I needed to work on my apologies. Damn me and my planet-sized pride. 

"I'm also sorry for being a bitch. Like all the time. And..." 

I could see that this apology was not going anywhere so I decided to tell him the solid truth.

"Seth. I'm sorry. You have been nothing but kind and thoughtful to me ever since I arrived here and I haven't exactly returned the favor. Mer told me about her... past-"

"Meredith told you about Luther?" he asked, concern and anger- probably directed towards Luther- evident in his expression. 

"Yeah, she did. She also told me about how you saved her."

He just shrugged, "The way he was treating her wasn't right, so I helped her."

"But you see, normal vampires wouldn't do that. In fact, most vampires would have a competition on who would take her virginity first. I misjudged you completely. You're not like them," I urged, trying to get him to see my point of view. 

"Not all vampires are like that."

I snorted, "Oh please. I have seen a fair share of vampires in my life and they all never fail to show how much of an asshole they are."

His eyes narrowed at me, half in anger, half in concern, "No one has ever done anything like that to you, have they?"

"No, not really. Usually, I would swat them away. But the whipping was a pain in the ass," I explained as I ate, careful not to chew with my mouth open.

Seth's face suddenly went devoid of emotion. "They whipped you?"

"Uh, duh. I mean, unless we're suddenly on another planet where humans rule over the leeches, in which case you would be my pet." I chuckled at the thought.

He ignored my sarcasm and continued. "How often?"

"Well, it depended on how annoying you were. Obviously I was the worst of the lot. So for me, I'd say about six to seven times a week."

"Do you still have the scars?" he asked, his tone dead serious.

I was starting to feel that my sarcastic humor wasn't exactly lightening the mood like I hoped it would. "Yeah, I mean you can't get rid of scars like that with your average daily scrub."

"Show me."

I did a double-take. "Say what, now?"

"Show me your scars," he repeated softly, his tone holding so much authority that I almost wanted to do it. Almost.

But I wasn't wearing a fucking bra.

"Pet, why aren't you wearing a bra?" he asked.

Shit. 

"I-I um... I was in a hurry?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"Fine. Just pull down the zip of your dress then."

Are we seriously doing this?

"Seth, I can't do thi-"

"Now."

I sighed, knowing I wouldn't get anywhere with him. I turned around, holding up my hair so that he could find my zip.

When I felt his cool hands on my skin, I let out a little gasp. The sound of the zip cut through the air like a knife as the chill of the cool air followed. Suddenly, he went silent. Like, no breathing or anything. 

The scars were faded but still slightly visible. 

I almost jumped when I felt his fingers on my back, tracing the scars lightly. I could see that he was being careful to not go anywhere inappropriate, like down my lower back. He was being respectful.

"Come, Chloe."

"W-what? Where are we going?" I asked, jogging to meet his pace.

"To teach your pet shop owner a lesson."

Well then. Here we go again.