"A prince of Hell?"
"Well there are other princes and princesses in other orders-"
"Why am I here with you, this doesnt make any sense!" My voice raises and I attempt to get up again. Caligo is there before I can react and taps my forehead. I fell to the floor and could not move an inch.
"You will be treated well here but do not forget you are still held at my whims. I can throw you into the darkest places of hell or back to the human realm to be hunted. Do not upset me." He really looked regal now, fear crept in my bones. I was at another creature's whims, and I was in my human form with no protection.
"I am sorry prince." I drawled out the last word in a way that made Caligo scowl.
"You can rest here for the time being, I still have to study and test your abilities to understand what is causing the pain and what can help." He seems to have cooled of from one second ago but was still not in the best mood. He turned and his cloak flowed ever so gracefully behind him.
"Thank you." I said, able to fully move again. Caligo continued to walk out the door pausing only for a second.
➳
The witch tended to me. It was obvious she was not the most willing participant. Food was set for me out of my reach. My blood was taken not asked for. She rarely spoke to me. Today her eyes glanced around frantically when she entered. Actually, you couldn't tell where she was really glancing because she had no pupils, but she blinked and shifted her head around in a strange manner.
"Is caligo coming this afternoon?"
"Dont concern yourself with the prince, he is off gathering supplies to study vermin like you." She glowers.
"What are you going to do about it? Im under his protection-"
"You are not. He just wants to understand you like a germ so he can extinguish you properly." She growls and pulls out her jagged knife. "I know you will heal so I can mark you in any way I want and no one will know."
I started to panic, while I wanted to egg her on I did not want to be carved up by her. My claws and teeth were gone and I was just a soft vulnerable human. The witch poked her finger on the knife and whispered something in some language that I have never heard before and suddenly there were more knives pointing at me floating above her thin shoulders.
"I will relish in our pain ghoul." She smiled and the knives descended on me. It was quick where one pierced my shoulder before the others and I let out a cry. A part human part something else cry.
Then there was firefly pain, in an instant my skin and body morphed into the monster. My arms moved and my teeth grew. I swatted the knives away and plucked the ones that pierced my thin skin leaving black trickles of blood running down me.
"Now the fight is fair." I grin, fighting was in my blood, in my head I wanted her blood and wondered if it tasted like sunshine.
"Tristina Pallidi, dont move." Caligo brushed aside the door and commanded the room. The witch backed off and stepped beside him. It was a setup I could tell. They wanted me in my other form. Just an experiment just like the witch said.
"I only think its fair that I can draw blood too." My eyes latched onto her pale yellow arm.
"Not neede-" I jump. No warning, no stopping me. My claws drag on her arm causing a scream to echo through the air. Her blood was also gold and shining like her. I wondered if witch blood was powerful, maybe drinking it would ease the suffering. While I really wanted more blood and to bite I jump away out of Caligos reach.
"I wont let myself be bullied Prince, by you or any creature that dares to cross me." His eyes watch me with a guarded gaze. He looks at the witch and silently tells her to leave. She scurries away holding the three wounds.
"Even with this attitude you will be easily defeated in the ghoul kingdom. It is much harsher there and there is no room for hesitation or weakness. And you struggle with both." He calmly assesses me. It was all his plan wasnt it. Making me feel this way and seeing my ghoul form. All just a calculation in his game.
"The ghoul kingdom is full of decay and hunger. One sign of weakness and another will consume you just to get a sliver more power. I could do myself a favor and turn you over now to the ghoul king." he paused, adding dramatic flare weather he knew it or not. "But ghouls cannot bear children you see. It is part of the curse, so you are a bit of a mystery. Weather you are some adopted daughter, or hybrid thing, it is a mystery I desire to know before I hand you over to your imminent death." Even with the horrible words he was saying I could not dissuade myself from watching his every move. Thinking he was a magnificent creature of immense power and beauty to match. A tempting poison.
"And have you found anything worthwhile studying my blood?"
"Your blood was almost completely normal, no hint of anything arcane. But the blood I studied right after your change into a human was slightly different to what it was towards the end. As if your body had remnants of something still being processed. Now I can study you in your ghoul form." He takes a small vial and presses it to the hole poked in my skin from earlier. Not very gently he presses and prods the blood out of me. Its slow and almost gelatinous in the tube. He takes it away once it is full and tucks it into his side pouch.