The castle is located in a remote location. On top of a mountain in the middle of the forest, its highest point is seen from the field at the base of the mountain.

The mysterious castle is owned by no other than Sebastian de Fino. He bought it from an old lord since medieval times. However, the castle was in good shape because of the care of his ten maids.

Here, the lords of vampires were gathering every time they were having meetings. The big hall inside the castle and its inaccessible location made it the perfect place for their gatherings.

A dark room is filled with the white smoke of a cigarette. A man dressed in a black suit, lean shaped is sitting on the chair near the window, looking at the valley that is seen in the distance. Perhaps he was waiting for someone.

He puffs and exhales the smoke as he taps his fingers on the arm of the chair.

The man is named Sebastian de Fino. And, he was waiting for his son. The next day, there was a meeting with the lords and his plan was supposed to flow smoothly, This was the first time the man gave orders to his son. He better not disappoint him.

"Father! I brought her." From the darkness, two young boys arrive and a girl is on one of the guys' shoulder.

Sebastian is shifting his look towards them.

"Good job! You are indeed not a disappointment." His voice makes August feel happy but at the same time, he knows the man didn't mean a compliment. Too many times he wished that his father would really care about him. At least he got his father's attention enough to put him do this mission.

August smiles and says, "Thanks, father! What's next?" His voice was full of excitement.

Sebastian looks at him intently as if he saw through him." You know I didn't mean it as a compliment. Who betrays their friend and is this happy? "He puffs the smoke right in his face as he is already in front of August.

The boy coughs.

"I'm sorry …father but you said ..." He tries to look into his father's eyes and say something but he stops. Sebastian looks dull and uncaring of what August wants to say further.

"It was indeed my plan from the beginning …. but you still betrayed her. That's your sin." The aged man departs from him with small steps towards the window that he left a while ago. Having one of his hands in the pocket while with the other helping himself hold the cigarette that was almost done, Sebastian continues.

"A traitor shall not be trusted. Now you can go. I will take care of the girl with Alfonse." The cold tone of voice pierces August's heart.

In a blink of an eye, he vanishes from the room. He failed another test.

The boy caring for the lady, Alfonse, opens his mouth." Lord, where shall I take the girl?"

"Take her to the basement. I will test August once more." Sebastian smirks and glances at the boy who understands nothing apart from the first sentence the man spoke.

Dina is regaining her awareness as the steps of Alfonse are making her body arch from the way his shoulder was pressing her belly while her head swings a little. She opens her eyes and observes around.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The stairs Alfonse just finished walking are taking them on a corridor that has spider webs on the ceiling. Guess the maids never thought that the basement would have visitors.

She realizes that she is going to some sort of prison since she starts to see iron bar doors locking some kind of cells.

'Where am I …? This guy isn't August ….' Dina knows for sure that her questions will find their answers maybe in few days.

The boy with brown hair opens a cell and puts her down. She is moving a little and Alfonse is flinching.

Dian opens her eyes and makes an innocent face. "Where am I "Her eyes look up at him.

'Maybe he will tell me ?.... He looks kind of dumb …" Or so she thought too, cause in a second the boy gave a crocked smile and hit her stomach with his leg while looking down at her.

"Bitch …" He locks the cell and leaves in a hurry while murmuring, "It stings …. fuck …"

Dina has her hands gathered around her stomach and her teeth are gritted. If only she had been in full shape …the guy would have had no chance of beating her like that. And what was his problem?

She hits the ground with her fist," Damn …" Her almost whisper is not heard in the dark basement. Only the steps of the boy who left are still echoing as they fade in the end.

She lifts herself and raises her shirt. A bruise covers her tanned belly. She touches it but it hurts …" Tsk …"

Now what? Dina looks at the cell.

Three walls of stone, an iron bar door, a small mattress on the ground, and nothing else. She can see that the cell was not used at all in a long time. Her skin shivers when the cold air gets to her. The light bulb is still on from the moment Alfonse opened it.

'At least is not dark …' Her thoughts are making her feel a little optimistic.

Some steps come from the entrance of the basement. The boy who put her here is in front of the cell with a fluffy blanket. He tosses it between the bars and leaves the cell without saying anything. Dina saw that he wanted to curse her more but he restrained well.

He turns and smirks at her. The light is off and he opens his lantern and leaves the basement.

"Oh, come on! "Dina rolls her eyes pouting and starts to touch the ground in the hope she will find the blanket.

'Is like he heard my thoughts …damn him …but …at least I have a blanket.'

Dina finds the blanket and puts it around her body. She then crawls to find the mattress.

"Good …" Her voice sounds scary as the whole basement is empty, dark, and silent. She decides to not talk with a loud voice again.

'I swear I heard a growl …. damn them …why did they have to cut the light ?.... we are in the modern world not medieval times !…and even in medieval prisons there were torches …. this bastard ….' Her thoughts are running like an endless train of complaints.

The silence and darkness get to her after few hours of sitting in one position: leaning on the wall as the blanket covers her head and body while sitting on the mattress. She covers herself more with the blanket.

'Am I ..going to survive ?... Is Angelo …uncle or Faris aware that I disappeared ?...Will they save me?" These thoughts make her close her eyes and forget about the darkness around her.

Remembering all the good times with her uncle, the nasty Angelo that is stubbornly in love with her, and Ralph that helped her a lot …..maybe she should save herself or die alone. She can't allow the marriage; it will be better for her to die than reinforce an evil lord who has all the power over all vampires all for himself.

'I will choose my fate how I see fit …' Her fear, love, and hope are mixed. All that she knows for sure is that in the end, she wanted to protect everyone else but not herself.

Her hands are losing the grip they had on the blanket and she lays low on the mattress. Sleep comes on her eyelashes as she finds peace in her resolve.

Living one life …we all have the same gift. Finding peace …we all can find it. When we die, do we have that peace that we wanted? Do we find happiness in our life before dying? Should we?

Questions are eating her alive till she realizes that she is the one to choose what she believes in. No need for being insecure about her choices … no use …. her trust in herself grows as she realizes that she has power if she chooses it. A power that is making her fear seem so small and weak.

Dina found her peace and death didn't seem that scary anymore. She felt that it was worth sacrificing herself and her peace would stay with her in that moment.

Her thoughts are fading as she finally falls asleep.

A man is watching her as she falls asleep.

"She is not a scaredy cat. Good." Sebastian doesn't move an inch and observes her more. He could see in the darkness the same way he could see in the daytime.

"I will have to prepare the queen for the ultimate test then." Sebastian leaves with his hands in his pockets.