Into the Dark

TW: BRIEF MENTION OF SUICIDE

***

Calypso woke in a small cell hours ago after the guard announced that the King visit her today. It had been five days since she had last seen him. The cell was damp and dark allowing for the cold to seep into her skin despite her gigantic gown. She paces barefoot in her cell as she ponders all the ways her conversation with her husband can go. Unsure of how much he knows, Calypso finds herself walking fine line as she searches for a reasonable explanation. If she revels too much, her father will hunt her down himself and kill her. On the other hand, if she revels too little, the King will see it as withholding the truth which will nothing but make her seem more guilty.

The sounds of boots slowly stalking towards her cell bring her back to the present.

The Vampire King stops in front of her and stares at her blankly through the bars. He is more beautiful now that ever. Cloaked in shadows, he looks every bit of the dark king he is; tragically beautiful.

" Are you injured?” he breaks the silence.

Surprise flickers across the queen’s face,” I am well,” her voice barely a whisper; the bruises had faded to nothing more than yellow discoloration.

He nods at her before casting his gaze to the floor.

She shifts on her feet as she waits for him to make the next move. The King gestures to the door and without a word, a guard appears beside him unlocking it for him.

Her husband slowly strolls into her cell and waits until the guard climbs the stone stairway before he speaks,” There was a place I used to go when I needed to hide as a child. A place I knew my father would never go. A place only I knew of. If you head towards the mountain for a few miles you may stumble upon a secluded waterfall just west of the base. The water always the right temperature no matter the season and just as blue as the sky. There is cave hidden behind it that is naturally warm. I considered taking you there on many occasions.”

The queen finds herself confused by the unexpected story but she does not dare interrupt.

" I have never known love. My father was incapable and my mother, well, she was often in a distant world. A copping mechanism I suppose; much easier than facing reality,” his eyes are glassy as he stops inches from her,” I would have done anything for you. Don’t you realize that? Anything you asked I would have given you happily.”

His face is barely an inch away; so close that one small movement would cause their lips to brush. Her heart breaks from the pain that clouds his beautiful eyes.

She rests her hand softly on his cheek needing to comfort him,” Please, you don’t understand-” his voice stops her from saying more.

“I suppose this is my fault,” his gaze grows distant as it once was when she was merely a stranger to him,” After all, I underestimated my opponent.”

It takes a moment before she realizes what he is referring to, he used the line she had said in the ballroom when she was referring to those three vile women,” No. Please. I didn’t-,” horror fills her veins as he backs away from her,” you must believe me, King. I didn’t know what they were planning.”

She now stands in the cell alone as he slams the iron bars shut with such force that it vibrates through the dungeon.

Calypso clutches the bars as she attempts to make out his figure in the shadows but all she gets is his voice,” Save your tears, wife,” the word that had once sounded so sweet now drips with poison,” I followed you to your father’s spies.”

Disbelief crosses her face,” I thought-”

“That I was off on business?” he interrupts her,” I came home a day early. A fact you would have known had you come out of your chambers instead of spending your time plotting.”

Calypso has nothing to say to this information. She now understands why he will not heed her pleas. There is nothing she can say that explain any of this. Everything she says moving forward will be viewed as a desperate attempt to survive which will only make her seem more guilty. In a way, she was guilty. She willingly gave Oliver information knowing he would use it against the King.

" Did you really believe it would be so easy to end me? Poison? How trivial of you. Trust, me I would know. I have tried many different methods. As you can see, none of them successful.”

Her heart drops. He had tried to kill himself? How many times? Did he attempt it even after he met her? She breaks at the last thought.

She can feel the King building his guard up again. It resembled how he was in the beginning though this was far worse. Unlike before, she now has memories and feelings; both things she will never be able to forget.

He straightens the golden crown that sits atop his midnight hair,” Your trial will take place within the next week,” his voices hardens as he speaks to her like he does the rest of his subjects,” You will receive your punishment with dignity. You will not beg nor will you cry. Am I understood?”

Her throat burns from unshed tears and she finds herself unable to speak so she merely nods in reply.

And just like that, he is gone.

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Unedited

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