Chapter Text
I find myself on its doorstep, soaked with rain, scared. The mansion should have been abandoned. When I had last come here, it had been. Stone walls and a bare floor. But at least it was not soaked with rain. It looked abandoned, ivy climbing the stone, towers crumbling and decaying. But I’m scared. And soaked. I had expected cold cobwebs and darkness beyond the heavy door, but the mansion was warm and beautiful. Decadent. Things far grand for a ruin like this. Far too beautiful for creatures like me. Pieces of hand-crafted furniture and tapestries. Crystal chandeliers. All manners of finery. But no servant to chase me off. No master to chastise me for dripping onto the tile and rugs.
I’m hallucinating. A dream. A delusion. But I revel in it. Even if I will wake on a cold stone floor. The warmth on my skin. The smell of burning candles. I turn, blinking as if it will disappear. Only it doesn’t. There is a grand hall. An entryway that i pass through into a sitting room. A lit fireplace. A lounge. Upholstered chairs.
My feet skim the soft rug, and I sink down onto the lounge, half delirious with fever. I fall into an easy sleep, still shivering.
When I wake I’m covered with a thick, down blanket, and a tray with hot soup on the table before me. As if it had been careful to conjure what I thinks that I can stomach.
Perhaps a kinder creature than any that I’d fled from. Or a bargaining one. All girls know the stories. Stolen women led astray by pretty, preening forest spirits, forced into their service. Used in all manners. In any manner. For accepting gifts or words. For being sinners. For allowing themselves to be ruined.
I don’t touch the offered meal. I do not want to abuse its kindness. Or anger it. But I am afraid now. Awake and afraid.
And the voice. Echoing through the hall like the wind, soft and sultry, making me shiver beneath the blanket. Masculine and deep.
“A mortal in my halls? A sopping kitten crawling across my doorstep.”
Tears prick my eyes, but I keep silent. But gratitude is an admission. An admission is as good as a death warrant.
“You were overcome with fever.”
The voice closes in. Coaxing. As if it can pull an apology, a thank you from my lips.
“Did you come to make a foolish bargain? Wealth? Power?”
A shadow drifts around the edge of the doorway. A curl of darkness. It shapes itself almost like a man, a figure of long black robes, obscured by dusk. A living shadow. Almost a hand. Almost a long coat. Almost long hair spilling down its back. It steps closer with shadowed feet as I flinch where I am curled on its couch.
“Do you speak, kitten?”
“I am in a much better condition. I will leave—”
“Will you?” Its voice interrupts.
I still.
“And where did you flee from?”
An arranged marriage. An abusive betrothed—
“From nowhere.”
It laughs, a soft, dulcet sound.
“A lie, kitten?”
I sill my tongue as a blush creeps over my face.
“Speak truth with me. Why did you run into the wood? Why come to my palace? What fear did it take for you to find comfort here?”
I do not answer. I wait to see it move. To ensnare me. It only drifts lazily.
I shiver. Pretty little maidens snatched up and used. Young, scared things. Used as playthings. But it does not come close.
“I’m not a servant. Or a pet.”
It laughs. Another soft turn of darkness.
“You might be. A mortal’s pet, no?” The darkness drifts across the floor. Shadowy steps moving closer. Almost the shape of a man. A head spilling whisps of smoke. A clawed, smoky hand lifting to caress my bruised cheek. “Your mortal master did this to you, kitten? Is that what you’ve come to barter from?”
The touch is gentle, like a breath. I shiver. I’m still dreaming.
“Do you know how many come to barter with me? Are you not afraid of what I might ask of you, mortal?”
I swallow thickly and shake my head slowly, tracking its shifting form. There are worse things than a bargaining shadow.
“I only want safety. To be free from him.”
A pleased sound echoes from the darkness.
“And what would you give for it?”
My mouth opens, but I cannot make a sound. I cannot think of anything. Nothing. How does one bargain with a demon?
Lights flicker. Candles wink out, snuffed by tendrils of darkness. The fire roaring in the fireplace dims. It reshapes itself. Another step on shadowy feet. A tilt of its shadowed head, the darkness stretching into something like a veil. A living beast. He stretches taller in the near darkness, drifting closer until it nearly towers over me. I cannot look away from him. Tall. Slender. Masculine. Hiding behind darkness like robes, spilling over him. I am still, crouched on his sofa like an animal. I inhale his scent. Woodsmoke and heady, spiced wine. Intoxicating. Otherworldly. My chest heats.
“What would you ask of me?”
“Mmm.” It hums. One long, slender hand curls over the edge of the couch. Long, midnight nails, sharp and threatening. Corporeal. “To be free of your betrothed?”
The hand lifts, a nail dragging down the back of my wrist. It leans close. Conspiratorial.
“Perhaps you will give me one of your pretty hands. A fair bargain to keep all other hands from you. To ensure no other creature will ever touch your body against your will.”
His touch makes me shudder. So soft. So careful. It reaches up to caress my face. Brushing its knuckles over my cheek. I inhale.
“Or perhaps your memory? And with it all memories of you.”
Further. Further. It leans into me. I close my eyes as its soft breath ghosts over my ear, its hand lowering. A sharp nail tracing down my throat to my chest.
“Or, perhaps, you will give me your heart? Your love in trade for your pain?”
He listens a moment to my trembling breath before he straightens, claws tapping against the couch.
A fair bargain. Something of equal value. An adequate exchange.
I exhale. Shuddering.
“And…for my body?”
His head quirks. Curious.
“I cannot survive in pieces. And you require a fair payment.”
It hums a little sound and chuckles to itself.
“How long it has been since a mortal has offered their body?” He moves slowly, sinking into one of the chairs near the fire. In the light, he is only mist. Faded. A mirage. “A maiden, no less. You would offer something so precious?”
“It is only precious to those who would use me.”
The fireplace goes out, plunging us into darkness. He’s so close. I can feel the warmth of him. His breath in my ear.
“Do you assume that I would not use you?”
The fire returns. Dim. He is still seated in that chair. He hasn’t moved.
“How interesting, little one. Tell me your terms.”
“A promise. That no one will use. That no one will touch my body in any manner that displeases me. Now. Or in the future. That no harm will come to me in your care or from any other man.” I pause a moment before adding, “Not without my consent. And you will stop, should I ask it of you.”
“And you will give me your trust. The fair use of your body in any manner that I desire that does not go against your terms. Although,” The shadow hums again softly, long fingers drumming on its knee. “You may find that a night is not quite enough.”
I cannot see its features. But I am sure it is smirking.
“Eat, little one. You will need your strength.”