A/N: back at it again with the room layouts. There's another one at the end for a different room so don't you worry.

~~~

The rest of our ride was silent, and I kept my head down as we entered the vampire's castle, enough to where my hair covered the sides of my face.

I wanted to stay unnoticed, unrecognizable. So that when I did make my escape, no one would have a reason to identify me as anything other than a human that accidentally wandered too far into the castle.

A rare occurrence here. Only a few humans would dare to walk in here to request a meeting with our lord, and just like me, they'd walk out of here and back to where they came.

Finding the exit couldn't be too hard once I reached the main floor. If anything just follow the vampiric traffic heading out of here.

The room I was being taken to was my biggest worry so far. Whatever was waiting for me there to keep me contained.

More chains, cages, something worse I can't even imagine? Escaping that was going to be a challenge, but one I was more than willing to partake in.

I had to be very careful about this. Escaping a vampire couldn't be easy, and I wanted to take my time planning for something foolproof.

At the same time, I wanted to make this endeavor as a pet as short as possible. To hurry and get back to my life before it all went to shit.

It was a bad mix, but one I was just going to have to deal with.

I stole a glance up at the vampire in front of me after noticing that he'd stopped.

He'd put his hood back up before retrieving the chain and taking me out of the limo.

If I'd dyed my hair that color I'd probably try to hide it too.

I didn't even know why we'd stopped. He'd just turned into a weird dead end with no one else around and was now just staring at the wall-

The wall opened. Two doors that blended in scarily well opened to the sides, exposing something familiar.

This was an elevator.

A weird tucked-away one but... Whatever

It was nicely carpeted and smelled oddly nice. Subtle hints of jasmine and honey.

The walls were lined with royal blue velvet, and the hand rails against the walls were completely spotless and showed off a gold that wasn't too overbearing or gaudy in color.

I don't know why I was expecting some shithole. I was probably just associating it with the kind of horrid creatures that lived here.

We stepped in, and I headed as far back as the chain would allow.

I couldn't see what he did to the button panel, but it was more than just hitting one of them, that's for sure.

I was hoping to at least know which floor we were going to, but I guess that didn't matter.

All I needed to know was where the ground floor was.

Given the amount of time it took between when the door opened again, it had to have been one of the highest floors available.

I kept my eyes peeled, looking past him as the doors opened, needing to make sure I knew where this elevator was later.

The lights on the floor we stepped into were dimmed, and at first glance, I couldn't see anyone else around.

It was quiet, unnervingly so.

I tried to take in as much as I could in the absence of anyone else, for the time being.

A nice little social area was the first thing I could make out in the lighting, though my main focus was on the large clock against the wall.

2:34 am... Jeez.

I pulled my head back down and focused on counting my steps and memorizing the slight turns we made instead of taking in the scenery.

I found it strange that there weren't any other vampires out and about in this floor.

It was late for humans, not so much for vampires.

I must have imagined them swarming this place like bees at all hours of the day, but this fact did make for an easier getaway.

After about a minute, we stopped at a pair of large doors.

Like, unnecessarily large. Too tall to serve any other purpose than just to show off.

All this show of vampiric grandeur was getting tiresome fast.

My eyes narrowed at the little black box above the door handle that he placed his thumb on, hearing the click before he pushed it open and went inside.

The air warmed around me the instant, which I dared to find pleasant compared to where I'd been.

The culprit to the change was found immediately to my right, a small living area made of a black leather couch, recliner, and coffee table around a firepit.

Three sides of that space were encapsulated by a wall, the one closest to me being accompanied by, again, a stupidly tall bookshelf.

I continued to scan the area, looking for hints of where he planned to contain me. Spots to look out for. Stuff like that.

Instead, to my left, I found a large desk. One that was neatly organized save for the few sheets of stray paper and a stain of ink in the wood near the bottom corner.

I followed that path, taking in the many different pieces of clothing storage occupying the top right corner.

Against the back was a curtained window and a door that looked to lead outside, and the left corner I couldn't see.

The part that wasn't covered by a wall was instead hidden between thick, dark curtains that hung from the ceiling.

There were also plants... quite a few of them. One with healthy, green, leafy vines crawling all over the wardrobe and dressers. A tall, tree-like one sat near the door on the right wall, and a few smaller ones resided comfortably on the desk.

I couldn't see a bed... was there another room?

With the darkness under his eyes, maybe he simply just didn't sleep.

The door shutting behind me caused me to stiffen and turn my head to find him approaching, digging for something in his pocket.

His shoes echoed against the dark hard wood with each step until he was directly behind me.

I kept still, especially when he pulled out that last key.

He didn't meet my eye, instead stared through my hair where I knew this metallic collar resided.

He still held the chain, and lightly pulled in a way that coaxed the clasp at the front to rotate to the back.

With the chain connected, it moved my hair with it, allowing the access he needed.

The last hopeful click I needed to hear tonight, and the collar fell away.

My sigh of relief was kept quiet, and I fought the urge to rub the skin around my neck in favor of watching what his next move was going to be.

He stayed silent, only saying something after walking past me and setting both the chain and the file on his desk

I was going to have to get my hands on that file too.

I knew or had learned enough about this recently to know there was a certificate of sorts in there that proved his ownership. One that I didn't think there was any way for me to possibly fight if it was kept in his possession.

If I got out without it, he could simply just hunt me down and get me back. Legally.

My head rose when his eyes came into my view again.

"The bathroom is in there," he gestured to the only other door I could see in this place, "and your room is the one straight ahead from there. Just shut my door to the bathroom whenever you use it. I'm sure you can figure out how everything works."

...My room?

That couldn't mean anything good.

But that was all he said before walking over to his collection of wardrobes, and acting as if I didn't exist.

Good. Maybe I'll be able to use that.

I hesitated for only a moment before making my move toward the supposed bathroom door.

The darkness made me feel for a light switch against the wall on instinct, eyes widening as soon as I found it and everything came into view.

White marble made up the entirety of the counter to my left. Wall to wall with a large, round sink placed right in the center. Vanity cabinets and drawers filled everywhere they could on the bottom.

Facing it on the other side sat glass walls with a showerhead that was all the way up on the roof, and a control panel that looked like it would take a moment to figure out. The bath beside it mirrored the shower in terms of size.

That must be a bitch and a half to fill up and keep warm.

A small divider hid the toilet from immediately being spotted. the only reason I did spot it was because the odd-looking wired towel rack took a few seconds of investigating before I could move on.

Were all of these vampires living like this?

What the hell could be wrong with this one if this was where he was living?!

I stared ahead at the door he talked about.

Right... 'my room'.

In a room such as this, with how much money he apparently has, it would only make sense that he'd have on off-hand one for me.

I dragged myself towards the door, finally letting myself rub the skin of my neck.

I was ready for a room made fully of metal, no larger than the one I'd spent the last two weeks in.

The door opened easily, and again I searched for the light switch.

Instead, this was... this was bigger than my room at home.

A queen-sized bed sat between two large windows on the same wall his was. In front of that was a cushioned leather chest nearly as long as the bed, a large white rug, and a wardrobe facing it all.

A small sofa with a matching footrest, a desk in the back corner, an empty bookshelf.

What the hell was going on here?

It was like my brain couldn't begin to fathom what was happening. This was the polar opposite of everything I'd prepared myself for.

I get purchased by this crazy rich, weird-looking vampire, and get treated to something close to a five-star resort?

Was this some sort of sick joke? It had to be right? Like this was actually his bed and I had to go through another door to find the cell he expected me to live in, right?

I peered behind me for any sign of him watching from afar to laugh at me, but he was nowhere to be seen.

There was a humming sound. Very faint, but noticeable coming from my direct right.

The second I spotted the source, my feet didn't waste a second moving toward it.

There was... a mini fridge.

My knees hit the hardwood a heartbeat before I pulled the door open, my empty stomach and dry throat suddenly feeling 30 times worse.

The first things I saw in the door were a few glass bottles of water and the speed at which I opened it and chugged it was borderline feral.

But god did each gulp feel absolutely heavenly.

My body let me look closer at what else was in here as soon as the bottle was empty, still becoming more and more confused with each new thing I discovered.

More glass bottles of... juices maybe, little containers of fruit, some chocolates in the topmost compartment of the door, even some little meat and cheese platters.

I just sat there for a moment, listening through the silence for anything. Any movement from the vampire, any sound, any word, any footstep.

Nothing.

I slowly closed the door, planning to save it for a little later.

This was too much. The realization of that only told me that there was a catch bigger than I could imagine coming my way.

He was trying to get me to lower my guard... that had to be it.

Some may fall for this false sense of security, but I wasn't most.

Until then though...

I was basically tiptoeing my way out of the room and back into the bathroom.

His prior words repeated in my head, and I felt as if I needed to test them.

My movements slowed even further those last two steps closer to his door before I could reach the handle.

As soon as I had it, I pulled it and closed it as quietly as I could, sitting and waiting for a few moments after to make sure that he wasn't going to do anything.

Nothing, though, there wasn't a lock on this door for me to ensure my privacy.

I thought on that for a few seconds until the call of the shower overpowered wherever my mind was going.

I couldn't get out of here if I smelled like a pet. Or whatever filth I picked up in that place.

After ensuring that he wasn't going to come busting in here for two more minutes, I got down to business.

Stripping away the clothes I got caught in and had been wearing ever since, I threw them all in the trash can and got into the shower.

The control... thingie stared back at me, but after twisting a few things and pressing different buttons that had water shooting from different places, I got to that large spout overhead that acted like pressured rain.

Warm pressured rain.

I just stood there. I spent a good fifteen minutes just letting the water pressure batter me in hot water, relishing the feel of it compared to what it was.

My mind began to wander on its own, formulating a plan from what I'd discovered so far.

At least it tried, before that sight pressure in my chest- in my heart, and all throughout my main veins became a focus.

Right... the shower was where I'd typically take care of it if I had to do it myself.

If dad didn't need to trade my blood for information or just to get some vampire to keep their mouths shut.

I stared down at my left arm, at the fang marks from vampires and needle jab scars from dad. I always manage to patch myself up quite well whenever I had to take a blade to my skin.

I doubted this vampire had any syringes just laying around somewhere. At that point, he may as well just use his fangs.

I think I may just prefer that over having to find a blade to help me out...

Fangs kept the wound open. They kept it from clotting before I could get rid of enough of it, and do it all over again.

Syringes were the best of both worlds I've come to learn. They weren't attached to a predator, the kept the wound open, they got a lot of blood in a short amount of time.

It had me almost looking forward to the citizen blood collections.

I shook the thought from my head.

I'll take care of that later. I had a few more days before it starts getting unbearable.

He may end up wanting a taste of me before I can manage an escape.

No matter how much of a fight I put up, I wasn't stupid enough to think it would stop any of them.

That was a lesson I'd learned by now.

I hurried and went through the cleaning with whatever he had on hand already.

It smelled good enough. As long as it doesn't turn my hair that color, I didn't care.

He even had face wash. I wasn't used to finding that in a boy's shower.

I let myself rinse for a minute more before shutting it all off and stepping out.

The strange metallic towel rack soon made sense as soon as I got one of the towels in my hands and found that they were warm. Like a blanket fresh from the dryer.

Oh...

These towels were like... stupid soft too.

I hugged it around me tight, waiting for my body to stop dripping water before waddling back to 'my room'.

I shut the door behind me and opened up the wardrobe to see what was inside.

It was labeled... with tiny silver plaques on the shelves and drawers. Each item of clothing came with a few things in each size.

I managed to filter through and find some undergarments and comfy clothes in my size.

A soft, faded yellow shirt, and some white sweats.

I sighed in bliss as I slipped them on, running the towel through my hair for good measure.

It was colder in here than it was in his room, which was fine. I liked getting curled up when it was cold.

I liked it more when there was a warm body beside me but... not yet. Soon.

The bed was calling to me. I didn't want to admit to it, but it was. I was more exhausted than I was willing to admit, and that shower really just hammered that further into me.

I could just tell the comforter was thick and warm, and there were a few pillows to choose from.

The sheets and blankets were all various colors of greyscale. Nice and neutral I guess.

The headboard too was built in such a way where it almost acted like a shelf. Thick enough to lay things on it seemed.

There was something there. A remote it looked like.

I just turned and crawled onto it, stepping onto the chest at the foot of the bed first.

The way my body sank into it immediately had my back singing its praises.

It wasn't too soft, just enough to where my body sank down an inch or so.

Okay... alright I can lay down, but I can't let myself sleep right away. I don't know if he might try to do something if he thinks that I'm asleep.

I dragged myself up the bed, throwing back the covers to get under them.

There was another blanket under the comforter, one I quickly realized was weighted.

I felt something... strange in me soften at that realization. At the weighted blanket I held

I'd always wanted one of these, but could never justify it. Gabe always thought that they were stupid, and I slept at his place as much as I slept at mine...

I shuffled my way down under them all, feeling myself nearly melt after I threw it all back over me and my head hit the pillow.

This was the wrong time. The wrong time and the wrong situation for me to let myself enjoy all of this but... I couldn't help it.

I rose my arm up to the top of the headrest, feeling around until I found the remote.

I just pushed the big main button in the middle and the room was pitch black.

Pitch black darkness, a cold room, heavy and thick blankets, and the quiet humming of the fridge?

This was going to be hard.

That was the last thought I remember having.

I didn't mean to. It was nowhere on my list of plans. It was the only thing I didn't want to do, but sleep claimed me within the minute, and I was helpless to fight it off.

~~~

A/N: Aaaaand Kira's room: