72 More Of An Idiot Than I Though

If she ever got out of here, she would finish their deal and they would go their separate ways. She wondered what would be considered too often regarding visits provided Ash even wanted to see her again after this.

They cared about each other to some extent but it was no more than that. It could never be more than that even if she did want it.

Ruby had to shake those ridiculous thoughts free. Even if she wanted it? Wanted what, a romantic relationship with Ash? Sure, they had kissed, but it was only a peck to get Flint off their tail. He hadn't even been flustered by it so it obviously didn't mean anything to him.

What was she thinking?! It didn't mean anything to her either!

"Ruby, can you make me something pretty? I want matching necklaces for me and Freddie," Flora said as she tugged on the hem of Ruby���s shorts. Freddie was the name of her stuffed bear.

She hadn't even realized that her cousin had stopped swinging. That was what she got for daydreaming about complete nonsense.

Was Ruby even allowed to use her powers for herself during her contract period though? She looked to the vampire currently guarding them for permission and got a head shake 'no' back. Figures. Dorian Cromwell was even greedier than her uncle.

"Why don't we make flower necklaces instead? I can make you a crown too," she offered instead.

They couldn't begrudge her the use of some of the garden's flowers. Flora could use her powers to help a little too so it wasn't like they would be taking very much.

The rest of the afternoon passed peacefully enough. The flower necklaces/crowns required enough concentration that they distracted Ruby from both thoughts of Ash and worries about what was awaiting her after dark.

===

Dorian didn't have a merciful bone in his body; Ruby's worries earlier in the day had not been unwarranted. Not only did he use blood control to force her to summon another mountain of jewels, he controlled her like a puppet for the rest of the night for his own sick amusement.

He made her do tricks like some sort of circus pony and when she tried to resist she was met with that horrible pain again. Her glamour control slipped pretty early on and her appearance was mocked on and off for the rest of the night by the other vampires in the area.

He wasn't permitted to go back to her room until it was nearly dawn so she had to start her day with Flora running on no sleep. She napped when the baby did but that wasn't nearly enough to sustain her.

Her head pounded and her vision was fuzzy from lack of sleep. She may or may not have started hallucinating slightly as well; it was hard to tell what was real as opposed to what wasn't. Resisting the blood magic left her incredibly sore as well so she basically walked around feeling like she was hit by a truck.

Ruby wouldn't be able to take much more of this. She had no idea what was going on outside or what was taking so long but each passing day Dorian's torment grew more sadistic so she figured it wasn't going well for him.

What exactly was Ash doing? Had his plan to get into the barrier failed? What was taking him so long since he was obviously out there trying to get in?

"Nine vampires," Dorian said in a deadly tone as he used blood control to twist Ruby's body into a pretzel. "I have lost nine vampires because that miserable wretch Ash Mayhew keeps trying to get inside. He never would have dared attack here without resources so this is ENTIRELY. YOUR. FAULT."

She groaned in pain but wasn't able to stay silent this time. How stupid was he to blame this all on her? It was his actions that spurred Ash's desire for revenge! He would have never bothered with the Cromwells if they hadn't destroyed everything he loved first.

"If you truly believe that, you're more of an idiot than I thought," Ruby spat. "You started this; you should have been prepared to deal with all possible consequences."

Her words resulted in the impossible position her limbs were in to be pulled even tighter, causing a deep shudder to run through her. It hurt. It really hurt but she could not pass out and let this monster win!

Ruby glared up at him with all the ferocity she could muster. She could really tear him a good one but that would result in more pain for her. She spent a moment debating on whether or not it was worth it.

Pissing him off more than she already had might result in her death and then no one would be around to take care of Flora. The vampires would surely kill her once her value as a hostage was gone.

She didn't think Dorian would kill her purposely because that would result in his own death but if her body passed a certain pain threshold without having sleep she might die anyway. Even Flora had noticed something was off about her, though Ruby played it down for her sake.

She had caught her reflection in a window earlier and looked like a very colorful walking corpse. Holding on for her cousin's sake was imperative so she would keep her mouth shut. For now.

Dorian's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What sort of bizarre relationship do you have with that pathetic excuse for a vampire? It almost sounds to me that you are in love with him."

How exactly did he come to that conclusion? Because she defended him? That was a normal thing to do if you cared about someone. Being in love with him was a pretty big leap from there!