2

                                    

                                          

"Thomas..." I groan, spluttering out fresh blood that had begun to pool inside my mouth, leaving a bitter metallic aftertaste. I heave myself in an upright position and turn around to see an arm squashed under the remains of the carriage.
"Thomas!" I exclaim as I crawl towards the heap of woods, ready to scrape through it until I see a pool of crimson surrounding the pile. After all, he didn't make the fall of the carriage but I somehow did. Guilt-ridden, I rub at my scarred knees and wobble upwards to stand. Looking around, I notice not one trace of a horse is to be found. No carcass, no flesh, no prints. Nothing.
"Where on earth would they have gone," I mutter as I trod past dead Thomas to look for the horses. "There's no way they survived that, they basically dived straight into their deaths."
Warm liquid trickles down my forehead and I swipe it away. Fresh blood. I rip a piece of fabric from my dress and dab at the wound, wincing at the stinging pain.
"What the hell am I going to do now," I whimper in distress, "Poor Thomas he didn't deserve that."
The sound of crunching wood catches my attention. "Perhaps I can amuse you?"
I swivel around at the sound of the man and stand still in shock. The man in front of me stood lean and tall with black armor covering his tight, protruding muscles. His black wavy hair covers the side of his head just enough to reveal a chiseled, sharp jawline and slight veins on his tight neck. But it was his eyes, cat-like ruby-red glistening eyes, that caught me off guard, almost as if I would be in a trance if I stared into them any minute longer. Except the color was peculiar; inhuman. Looking more closely, a faint trail of blood slides down his plump lips.
"Who are you?" I gulp, fearful of my injury as a vulnerability. I stagger back slightly and he smirks mischievously.
"You're bleeding Princess", he coos, stepping towards me.
"Get away from me!" I limp backwards in pain, not fully regaining my strength from the fall.
"You'll only hurt yourself if you try to run away," he chants. I stop in my tracks and face him directly.
"How do you know of my status, who are you?" I ask, controlling my pants and recoiling fear.
"Oak carriages are specifically for royals, or am I wrong?" 
I eye the heap and sigh with relief. Common knowledge.
"Are you bleeding as well?" I ask, eyeing the dried stain on his lip.
He grins with his mouth wide open and more blood sieves through his teeth down his chin. He spits tufts of fur on the ground and I gasp, holding my hands to my mouth in disbelief of the scene. Without much thought, I make a run for it with the rest of energy I have left. I don't get far once I look ahead at the scene of disassembled horse bodies strewn across the ground in pools of guts and blood. 
"What monster are you..." I whimper and crash down to my knees, dizzy from all the blood, all the running.
He kneels next to me, lifting my chin. "Do you know how crazy you drive me Princess? How badly I crave every inch of you?" He pulls my chin closer just inches away from his lips and licks my open forehead wound.
"Mmmm." He groans, breathing heavily.
My breathing steadies and my eyes falter, the whole world spinning at my feet. Weakness starts to overcome my strength and I let it be. If I am to die by the hands of a monster then so be it. I have no more fight in me left, no care for life. All I know is that I can rest now.