A quiet sound suddenly broke her thought, there was a small click followed by a soft scraping noise. It came from the heavy wooden door she had pounded on earlier.
Katherine's heart jumped. She stumbled back quickly, putting the large wooden table between her and the door.
"Was someone coming in? Was it the person who had grabbed her before?" Katherine thought. Fear made her hands shake, but she curled them into fists, her nails digging into her skin. She wasn't going to stand there and do nothing. She would face whoever it was.
The heavy door slowly opened inward, quiet and smooth and a figure appeared in the doorway, just a dark shape against the hallway behind. At first, she couldn't see any details, only that it was tall and lean. Then, the person stepped into the room. The door closed behind him with a soft thud that felt too quiet.
Katherine held her breath.
The man was very tall, he was taller than anyone she had ever seen. He wore dark clothes that looked old but fancy, like something a prince might wear in a frictional movie. His coat was long and had shiny black buttons and thin silver lines.
His hair was black, like night, and a little messy over his forehead. His skin was very pale, almost white, like moonlight. The pale skin made his face stand out in the dark room. He looked both handsome and scary.
But his eyes were the scariest part. They were very dark and looked deep, like a deep hole you could fall into. When he looked at her, it felt like he could read her mind. His eyes didn't look like a normal person's. They looked very old, like he had lived for hundreds of years. They felt cold and dangerous.
He didn't speak. He didn't move. He just stood there, watching her. The room felt colder and the air heavier. Katherine felt small, like a mouse being watched by a cat. It wasn't just his height. There was something else about him that made her heart race.
"Wh-who are you?" she asked quietly. Her voice shaking.
The man gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. It was the smile of someone who knew they were in control.
He then moved, gliding across the stone floor towards her with quiet steps that was almost unnatural. He didn't walk like a normal person, he flowed, almost like he was floating. He stopped on the other side of the heavy table, without removing his eyes off her.
""I am Lord Nicholas Fyodor," he said. His voice was deep and calm, but clear enough to be heard across the large room. There was something about the way he spoke that made Katherine feel uneasy, like he was someone who expected people to listen to him. It sent a small chill through her and she couldn't explain why.
Lord? Like a royal title?" Katherine said sarcastically . "Where am I? Why did you bring me here?" The words came out quickly. She was still scared, but now she was also getting angry.
"You kidnapped me! You grabbed me off the street! You psycho!" she shouted.
Nicholas calmly placed one pale hand on the table. His fingers were long and smooth. He tilted his head a little and looked at her closely, like she was something strange and interesting he was trying to figure out.
"You are in my home," he replied calmly, his voice a low murmur. "The Crimson Keep. And I brought you here because you belong here."
"Belong here?" Katherine stared at him, bewildered and outraged. "I don't belong here! I belong at home! With my parents! With my brother, Alex! You have to let me go!" Her voice rose with desperation.
Nicholas's gaze sharpened but he didn't look angry, rather more like interested. "Your family," he said slowly, "They cannot help you here. This place, it is beyond their reach. Beyond the reach of your entire world."
"What do you mean? What is this place?" Katherine demanded, gripping the edge of the table so hard her knuckles turned white.
"You ask many questions," Nicholas observed, with a faint smile that looked more like a grin. He didn't answer right away. Instead, he looked at her closely, his eyes studying her face for a moment. Then he said quietly, "It is fascinating."
"What is?" Katherine asked, wary.
"You," he said simply. He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. The intensity in his gaze was overwhelming, making her want to shrink away. "Even here in the dark, you still manage to light it up. There's fire in your spirit. It calls out in the darkness. Most humans brought here crumble instantly, they weep, they beg and they break." His eyes held hers. "But you, you glare and fight."
His words confused her. She just felt scared and angry. Was he mocking her? "I want to go home!" she insisted, trying to keep her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands.
"Home is no longer an option," Nicholas stated, his voice losing its softer edge and becoming stern. The feeling coming from him was strong and heavy like an invisible chain wrapped around her neck. He ruled and controlled this place but something in his eyes thought he could control her too.
Katherine suddenly felt a strong urge to fight back. She didn't care how powerful he looked, how old he seemed, or how calm and scary he was. She couldn't let him take her life away.
"You can't keep me here!" she cried out, finding her voice again. She pushed away from the table, taking a bold step towards him, though every instinct screamed at her to run. "I don't care who you are! Let me go! Let me go right now!"
For the first time Lord Nicolas expression changed. The small hint of amusement disappeared and something darker and more serious took its place. His eyes narrowed as he stepped closer closing the space between them until only a few feet of cold stone floor were left. Katherine flinched back and bumped into the table again. He was so close now. She could feel a strange coldness coming from him, the details on his dark clothes was more visible and she could smell that same strange scent from before.
His closeness was scary. She felt stuck, like there was no way out. Her brave words from earlier now felt silly and weak compared to how strong he was. He looked like he could break her neck with one hand. The thought made her stop breathing for a second.
But Lord Nicholas didn't hurt her. He just looked down at her, his dark eyes studying her face. He saw the fear in her eyes fighting with a small spark of courage. He noticed her lip shaking a little, her jaw clenched tight and how she still looked him in the eyes even though she was clearly scared.
"Such spirit," he said softly, more to himself than to her. "It burns so bright."
He slowly lifted his hand. Katherine flinched hard, shutting her eyes tight, expecting him to hit her but nothing happened. When she opened one eye just a little, she saw his hand hanging in the air near her face. His long, pale fingers were slightly curled. He wasn't touching her, but the way he held his hand felt even scarier than the punch she had expected.
"You think you have a choice," he stated, his voice dropping to a low intense whisper that seemed to bypass her ears and sink straight into her bones. "You think you can fight your fate. But you are wrong, little human."
He finally lowered his hand, his dark gaze sweeping over her one last time, like a torch. "You will learn," he said softly, the words filled with assurance.
"You belong to me now."
And then, as silently and gracefully as he had appeared, he turned and glided back towards the door. It swung open before him and closed quietly behind him, leaving Katherine alone once more in the dark room.
She stood there for a while, shaking, her heart beating fast like it wanted to escape her chest. Lord Nicholas last words echoed in her ears.
"How could she belong to him? Like she was an object or a pet" Katherine thought.
Anger rose up in her again, burning through the fear sitting in her stomach.