Editor's note: this story contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.
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It was gently snowing out, but the bitter cold Minnisota winter winds still blew. Ctesasisl and Arda huddled close in his small cabin. She knew there was something different about Ctesasisl but she couldn't figure out what. Ctesasisl was a puzzle to her. He wasn't eager for Arda to find out that he was a vampire. He just wanted a friend for now. Still Ctesasisl knew sooner or later, as much as he didn't want to, he would have to tell her.
When he found her in the frozen gully, he had smelt the other vampires upon her. The vampire clan had claimed her and marked her as their own. Ctesasisl knew of the young vampire clan, they were one of the groups who believed that humans should just be farmed and used for breeding.
The vampire clan would not let one of their breeding stock go so easily. Sooner or later, the clan would come for Arda, sooner or later they would take her back to where they had held and tortured her. Ctesasisl wanted to keep Arda with him for as long as possible, he wanted to spare her the agony that the clan would keep her in. Ctesasisl could not even admit it to himself but he wanted Arda as his own.
"We should probably do something for dinner, what do you have around here to cook? I'm not much of a cook but I can usually toss something together. It's better than nothing, we can't starve." remarked Arda.
"I'm not hungry. Sometimes, I'll go days without eating stuff, but I'll go out and look for something for you. Let me go get you some food, you're not well yet Arda and it's freezing out there." stated Ctesasisl bluntly.
He was worried about the little human woman. She wasn't well yet, despite what she claimed he knew she was still in intense pain. Despite some elementary medical training that he accrued on his time on earth, Ctesasisl didn't have the medical skills to make Arda better.
"I'm a whole lot better than I was and it isn't fair to make you do all the work. I should be doing at least half the work besides I'm the one who's doing all the eating. I haven't seen you eat a thing since I got here. What am I supposed to do if you faint away from hunger? I don't even know where I am. The last place I remember being is falling down some hill. How am I supposed to find a supermarket?" exclaimed Arda.
Ctesasisl had been wondering how Arda had come to be close to his home, which was located in the Northern Wisconsin woods or more precisely, in the middle of nowhere. Everything that was logical told him that she shouldn't be there.
"Well, what do you remember before you fell down the gully in the woods?
Arda laughed bitterly. Then started hysterically crying into Ctesasisl's broad shoulder.
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"I was SO stupid, I deserved what happened to me. I got in a car with a bunch of strangers who said they were going to California, to escape the latest Northeaster that was coming into Boston. That happened just as the leaves were starting to turn, September-ish. I think. In the car, they started passing a bottle and a vape pen around...I smoked some and drank some. I thought we were going to have a good time. The next thing I remember I was tied up in some house. I must have still been drunk or high because I heard them talking about how they were vampires and they were going to keep me as a pet. I don't want to talk about what happened next...there were just so many of them that attacked me. I know I passed out, I don't know how long I was out, it seemed like years. I heard screams, moans and cries for help... other people were there with me but I couldn't see them. I thought for sure I was dead and in Hell. But, I woke up to them saying I was pretty and they should take me to Slibagh as tribute." Ardra sobbed for a long long against Ctesasisl's muscular chest. He could only pat her back. There were no words he could say to comfort this nearly broken woman.
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Ctesasisl knew Slibagh. They had been friends once, ages ago. He was a vampire nearly as old and powerful as him. Although, Slibagh had only become a vampire when the mountains were new. Slibagh had started the vampiric school of thought that humans should be "farmed". Humans, especially human women, who came into contact with Slibagh were severely mistreated. Arda continued to sob. Her entire body was shaking. She was ashamed of herself for letting her attack happen to her.
"I can tell, I can tell you don't believe me, I'm not even sure if I believe myself. When these men...things...whatever stopped for gas on their way to Slibagh's home, I was able to escape and run. I was sore everywhere. But I just kept running...trying to run on adrenaline alone. I don't know why they didn't follow me, maybe they decided I wasn't worth it. Somehow...somehow I got away...I just ran and ran and ran. It was SO cold! I fell down that hill and the next thing I remember is waking up here. I'm so grateful to you. I think you saved my life. Please don't think I'm crazy." begged Arda.
Ctesasisl knew Arda wasn't crazy. He also knew she couldn't handle anymore emotional trauma now and needed support. "I believe you Arda, I believe you. There are things in this world we can't understand. We can figure out more stuff tomorrow, for now let's just eat."
Ctesasisl made more deer soup for Arda and fed it to her. Then she fell asleep in his lap as he cuddled her. It had been ages since he had someone to cuddle with. He didn't even mind when she fell into a deep sleep and began snoring. He laid her down on the bed and went outside to think. If this young vampire clan was after her, it meant trouble.
The snow had long since covered Arda's footprints but he knew that the group of young vampires wasn't done with Arda. These young ones were playing a game of cat and mouse. Much to his deep shame, he had played it when he was young. He had loved the chase too.
He would capture a human. Abuse and use them for a while. Violating the women, in every imaginable way then he would "let" them think they'd escaped. They would be so happy and free, go on living their lives. But, sooner or later he'd track them down. Then he'd start the "game'" all over again. He'd let this game between him and the human go on for months, sometimes years.
When Ctesasisl was young he'd enjoyed playing cat and mouse. He'd enjoy tracking them and inflicting terror. Then one day he grew tired of it. Something within him changed. He didn't want be the way he was any more. That was when he decided to move to the northern Wisconsin woods by himself. He could no longer be in the world anymore. Ctesasisl needed his solitude.
He meditated on his troubled past while Arda slept soundly inside his cabin. Hours went by. Ctesasisl knew these young vampires would never give up their game of cat and mouse till Arda was spent body and soul. They would come to get Arda sooner or later. Ctesasisl was intent on saving Arda. But, it meant telling her the truth about him and potential losing her forever. Still, it was a risk he had to take. Dawn was breaking so he went back into his cabin to check in on Arda.
